Permits Without Projects: Why So Much Approved Housing Never Gets Built

It’s not interest rates - it’s risk. Here’s what’s really stalling construction in Germany (and the rest of the world).

A growing gap between approval and action

In 2023, German authorities approved just under 220,000 new homes - far below the government’s target of 400,000 per year. That gap alone is cause for concern.

But there’s a deeper issue hiding in the numbers: more than 60% of these approved projects never even broke ground.

That’s not a supply chain problem. It’s not a permitting bottleneck. And it’s no longer just about interest rates. The financing environment has improved. Capital is available again. So what’s really stopping construction?

The answer: economics - and risk

The biggest barrier to building isn’t access to funding. It’s feasibility. More specifically, it’s the labour-heavy, unpredictable nature of the construction process.

When human labour accounts for 50% or more of your total budget, everything depends on availability, efficiency, and even the weather. Developers can’t lock in cost. They can’t reliably forecast delivery timelines. And in a volatile market, those uncertainties add up fast.

Labour costs don’t just raise the price - they raise the risk.

And for developers working with tight margins, increased risk is the fastest path to putting a project on hold - sometimes indefinitely.

Manual labour is the bottleneck we need to fix

In traditional construction, manual labour is everywhere: in design adaptations, in off-site prep, in on-site preparation, building and finishing. Every step depends on the availability and coordination of skilled workers, many of whom are in short supply across Europe.

The consequence? Longer timelines, stalled sites, rising project risk - and growing hesitation among developers to green-light projects, even when the demand is clear.

At All3, we’re tackling the root cause

Our solution isn’t to squeeze labour harder. It’s to reduce reliance on it - by building a new approach to construction where more of the process is predictable, automated, and under control.

All3 integrates:

This technology-driven approach reduces exposure to labour variability. It shortens delivery timelines. It enables clearer cost forecasts. And it gives developers the certainty they need to move forward.

Because when risk is reduced, opportunities to build increase.

Certainty is what makes housing happen

We believe the housing crisis isn’t just a policy challenge - it’s a systems challenge. One that can’t be solved without changing how projects get delivered.

That’s why All3 is focused on what really matters: taking uncertainty out of the equation.

We’ll be sharing more about how we do it - and what it makes possible - over the coming weeks.

Stay tuned.

Let’s build. Together.