Country focus: Germany | Features

Economy and construction
	2006	2007
German economy
GDP growth	2.60%	1.70%
Consumer price Inflation	1.60%	2.30%
Producer prices	1.60%	2.10%
Average earnings of wage earners	1.50%	na
Average earnings of salaried employees	1.20%	na
Unemployment (Jan)	10.80%	9.50%
Retail sales	0.10%	n.a
Private consumer spending	0.60%	0.00%
Governmental consumer spending	1.70%	1.10%
Imports	12.10%	8.40%
Industrial production	na	5.50%
Construction industry
Turnover	6.50%	3.50%
Employment	0.00%	0.70%
Sales of cement	1.00%	2.50%
Residential construction	1.20%	0.10%
Non-residential construction	0.90%	2.00%
Civil engineering	1.50%	2.20%
Tender prices	9.8	na
Labour rates	0.30%	na
Materials costs	7.00%	na

Construction costs £/m²
Building type	Min	Max
Apartments: private luxury	1,310	1,930
Apartments: private high quality	780	1,150
Private housing: high-quality detached	810	1,170
Private housing: estate housing	610	900
Swimming / Leisure pools	1,010	1,800
Leisure centres (dry sports)	670	1,070
Shopping centre	980	1,500
Supermarkets shell	470	660
A/C medium-rise offices	920	1,320
A/C high-rise offices	940	1,400
A/C business park	780	1,250
Purpose-built industrial units	440	810
Industrial sheds	290	490
Notes: The costs above are based on the Study of International Building Costs which EC Harris carried out during January/February 2007. The figures represent typical guideline ranges of “built” costs that a client could expect to pay and are based on cost per m2 data provided by EC Harris sources “on the ground” in each country. Costs generally are given in £/m2 of gross floor area, measured to the external face of the external walls. Note that the figures exclude land costs, professional and legal fees, etc, and VAT, which should be added to the costs in this study. VAT in Germany is currently 19% on construction projects.