Traditional German lenders’ loan policies have never been as restrictive as they are at present.

According to the latest BF.Quartalsbarometer survey from consultancy firm Bulwiengesa, only 44 percent of German banks are prepared to finance classic residential real estate developments. In the office sector, this figure jumps to 60 percent, but hotels, care facilities and retail projects are all being viewed with a high degree of caution.

In the case of current property portfolio loan renegotiation, banks are also backpedalling at an increasing rate of speed. Office properties are now only being refinanced by 76 percent of lenders, surveyed by Bulwiengesa, and in the case of logistics properties — regarded as a boom industry only a few months ago — the figure drops to 64 percent.

All in all, the mood among banks is even more negative than it was at the height of the COVID-19 crisis. Whereas at that time the pessimistic outlook lasted for a short while, the e