Germany's housing market is cracking

<p>Worries are intensifying about the German housing market, just as the ECB raises rates to a cycle high. Prices fell by the most in Q2 since records began, according to data released Friday. Building permits have also plunged to the lowest since 2015.</p><p>That's running head-first into a government goal to build 400,000 apartments per year.</p><p>In response, the government is now deferring a plan to require higher insulation standards in new construction, according to a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/germany-scraps-plans-more-stringent-building-standards-prop-up-industry-2023-09-24/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Reuters report</a>. That's likely to steal a headline from a meeting later today between the building industry and Chancellor Olaf Scholz.</p>

This article was written by Adam Button at www.forexlive.com.