Federal Building Minister Klara Geywitz proposes encouraging people to move to rural areas or smaller cities as a solution to the housing shortage in large cities, with remote work opportunities playing a crucial role in this strategy.
Housing crisis and rural potential
Federal Building Minister Klara Geywitz wants to encourage people to move to the outskirts or smaller cities in response to the housing shortage in large urban areas. “The potential is particularly high in small and medium-sized cities because they also have daycare centers, schools, shopping facilities, and doctors,” the SPD politician told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung.
Geywitz highlighted the stark contrast between vacant properties and urban demand: “Nearly two million apartments in Germany are vacant. But in our big cities or metropolitan regions, there’s a huge demand. We will therefore present a strategy against vacancy at the end of the year. We should be ready by November.”
Remote work as a new opportunity
The minister emphasized how technology is changing the landscape of work and living. “In the past, many people left their hometowns to search for jobs. However, remote work and digitalization now offer entirely new possibilities for living and working in rural areas. And we want to strengthen these opportunities,” Geywitz told the newspaper.
Housing shortage and construction goals
Germany needs more new apartments than are currently being built. The traffic light coalition had set a goal of building 400,000 new apartments per year when it took office three years ago. However, last year only 295,000 apartments were completed nationwide, falling short of the target and underscoring the urgency of finding alternative solutions to the housing crisis.
