The head of Baumit Austria, Georg Bursik, criticizes the implementation of the government’s billion-dollar construction package. “The fact is that nothing of the two billion package has arrived,” said the director of the Lower Austrian building materials manufacturer about the package announced in February.
“Very little has reached the private sector, but “absolutely nothing” has reached the nonprofit housing developers,” Bursik specified in an interview with the APA.
Two billion in investments pledged
In the announcement, the government pledged over €2 billion in investments by 2027 for various measures to help the struggling construction sector. Bursik said tripling the renovation bonus was a “great campaign” but that it was not advertised well enough. He sees the role of the ministries in making sure the funding is better known. The bureaucratic effort involved in submitting the application is “okay,” the company boss said.
Bursik also ignored the so-called KIM regulation, which sets strict rules for granting real estate loans. In particular, the maximum debt service ratio of 40 percent is a thorn in his side. With higher incomes, “you can easily spend more than 40 percent,” Bursik said, calling for individuals to take responsibility for themselves.
“Worse than challenging”
In February, the company boss predicted 2024 would be a “challenging year” for the sector, but the interim assessment is now “worse than challenging”.
The construction sector will recover in parallel with the economy. “You could speed things up by giving people confidence,” but there are currently no signs that the bad status quo will change in the coming months, Bursik lamented. However, a recovery for the industry is important because it supports the economy and “we need housing for the people who are moving to Austria,” the director stressed.
“It would have been crucial to involve the states as financing providers from the start,” FPÖ construction spokesman Philipp Schrangl said, according to a broadcast. “Unfortunately, the timing of the government’s construction package also came far too late.” He spoke out in favor of a federal subsidy for housing subsidies to increase them to one percent of GDP. “And we must revive the housing investment bank to secure favorable financing lines,” Schrangl added.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
