Germany’s furniture industry is warning that Europe’s housing crisis is worsening, with sluggish construction threatening to weigh on consumer demand and the broader economy. That is the key takeaway from the latest meeting of the German supply chain in Frankfurt, where Leo Lübke, president of the Association of the German Furniture Industry (VDM), said that whilst German housing permits have risen, the number of completed buildings continues to fall.
“Simpler and faster approval procedures alone are not enough to increase housing construction,” he told members, urging Berlin to adopt stronger measures. Lübke called for consolidated subsidy programs, temporary reductions in real estate transfer tax, special depreciation options for new construction, and subordinated loans for private homeowners. Current forecasts suggest the downward trend in housing completions will not reverse until 2027, a timeline that industry leaders say is untenable.
The warnings echo broader concerns across Germany’s housing sector.
In May, German Housing Minister Verena Hubertz described building and housing as “the social issue of our time,” pledging to take a “crowbar” to construction law to accelerate approvals and yet industry leaders argue that without financial incentives, the pace of new housing will remain far below the 320,000 units per year experts say are needed until 2030.
Regulatory pressures also featured prominently. The European Union has agreed to delay the rollout of its deforestation regulation until the end of 2026, a move reported by Wood Central on Friday. Under the revised framework, proof-of-origin requirements for raw materials such as wood will apply only to the first placer on the market, with reference number transfers ending after the initial downstream processor.
In response, Jan Kurth, managing director of the VDM, said the amendments “align with the demands of the entire wood and furniture supply chain” and would ease the bureaucratic burden on manufacturers.
Even as regulatory relief offers some breathing room, the industry is looking outward. German companies are preparing a series of joint appearances at major international trade fairs in 2026, including the KBIS kitchen show in Orlando, Clerkenwell Design Week in London, the Index/Hotel Show in Dubai, and the China Kitchen Fair in Guangzhou. A first business delegation trip to Chicago and New York is also planned, underscoring the sector’s determination to expand its global footprint despite domestic headwinds.
Technology is emerging as another lever for competitiveness, with Philipp Trompeter of Dr Wieselhuber & Partner outlining how artificial intelligence could reshape the furniture industry, from realistic product visualisation and trend forecasting to receivables management and workforce planning. “High data quality is essential for successful AI projects,” he cautioned, warning that poor inputs could undermine efficiency gains. Meanwhile, Holger Siebert, vice chairman of the Caravaning Industry Association, pointed to the success of joint marketing campaigns, including television advertising, which he said had “significantly improved the public image of the sector in recent years.”
- To learn how AI and robotics are being used to short-circuit the UK’s housing crisis, click here for Wood Central’s special feature from August 2025.
