'Baukindergeld' for three months: Almost 48,000 families apply in Germany

• Approximately EUR 1 billion in promotional business volume
• Continued strong demand
• Almost 83,000 children move into their new homes

47,741 families in Germany have applied for the 'Baukindergeld' benefit in the first three months since the start of the programme. Baukindergeld is the name of a grant from the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community to support the purchase of owner-occupied housing for families with children. Since 18 September 2018, families in Germany have been able to apply online to KfW Group for Baukindergeld to build their own homes and provide for old age. Most applications come from North Rhine-Westphalia (10,728), followed by Baden-Württemberg (just under 6,407) and Lower Saxony (6,039). So far, a total of around EUR 1 billion has been earmarked for applicants.

Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said: "I am pleased that the Baukindergeld benefit has got off to such a good start. It lowers the individual financing burden and enables many families to take the step into home ownership. It also works to provide for old age."

Dr Ingrid Hengster, Member of the Executive Board of KfW Group: "The continuous high demand for the Baukindergeld benefit shows that the subsidy programme is well received by families in Germany and strikes a cord in this day and age. We are very pleased that almost 48,000 families in Germany have already been able to move into their own four walls with the help of the Baukindergeld scheme. We quickly facilitated the application process so that the programme could start in 2018."

KfW received more than 9,500 applications in the first week after launch. On average, almost 3,000 new applications are submitted every week.

A total of 82,865 children have been given a new home with the help of the allowance. Most families that have submitted an application have one or two children.

A family receives EUR 1,200 per child and year. The benefit is paid for ten years, so that families with one child receive a total of EUR 12,000, families with two children EUR 24,000 etc. The target group are families who signed their purchase contract or received a building permit between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2020. Applications to KfW can simply be submitted online via the KfW grant portal – at the latest three months after moving into the subsidised property.

You can find further information on www.bmi.bund.de (in German only) and

www.kfw.de/baukindergeld (in German only)