The European construction industry is currently in a slow recovery phase

Recently, ING (Dutch International Group) released a report on the European construction industry, which stated that it is expected to experience a moderate recovery in 2025, but after a 2% decline in 2024, the expected growth rate is only 0.5%. Although the growth is described as' insignificant ', the report still emphasizes indicators of good performance, such as rising housing prices and stable construction volumes, which are signs of slow improvement in the European construction industry.

Starting from 2023, after a year of continuous decline, housing prices within the European union   began to rise again in 2024, reaching their peak in the third quarter. The report points out that this trend is encouraging for newly developed projects, as the cost gap between new and existing houses is narrowing.

Labor shortage remains an urgent issue. Nearly a quarter of EU construction companies believe that there will be a shortage of workers in December 2024. Although this proportion is lower than the previous year's 32%, the report attributes the problem to an aging workforce and emphasizes the necessity of industrialization and digitization to improve efficiency.

Infrastructure is considered a key driving force for growth, and investments in digital infrastructure, power grids, water plants, and energy transformation will support the recovery of the construction industry. Countries such as Spain and Poland are benefiting from the EU Recovery Fund, with Spain being able to push forward with delayed projects and Poland preparing to launch railway and road development projects after removing regulatory barriers. As a leading indicator of infrastructure growth, the operating rate is also increasing, indicating further progress in the infrastructure sector in 2025 and 2026.