Market & trends

The housing challenge: why building is so hard

NI
Niko
18 aug 2026 · 1 min read

Demand for housing has exceeded supply for years. Yet construction output lags behind the ambitions. The causes are a stack of mutually reinforcing factors.

The bottlenecks

Long permitting and procedure times, grid congestion (no connection to the electricity network), nitrogen limits, higher building costs and interest rates, and a shortage of skilled workers. One missing link can halt an entire project.

Where is there movement?

Acceleration is sought in standardisation and industrial (prefab) building, in designating large-scale housing sites, and in shorter procedures. Conceptual and modular building enables repeatability — and therefore speed.

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