Saint-Gobain forecasts revival of the European housing market in the second half of 2025

Saint-Gobain’s report for the first half of 2025 shows positive expectations for the recovery of the European construction market in the second half of the year. The company notes that growth will occur gradually — depending on the country — with renovation of the housing stock and the implementation of EU energy efficiency directives acting as the main drivers.

The company’s management believes that Europe has significant growth potential, as the market is facing a housing shortage while support programmes for energy efficiency are being strengthened.
The main recovery factors include:

• Housing shortage: the EU lacks more than 6 million housing units. Government programmes envisage the construction of 1.5 million new homes over the next five years.
• Ageing housing stock: 75% of buildings in the EU were constructed before 1990, creating strong demand for modernisation.
• Regulatory requirements: the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) oblige member states to carry out deep renovation of buildings and improve their energy performance.

According to Saint-Gobain, most EU countries are showing gradual recovery in residential construction. An additional boost comes from large-scale renovation programmes and financial support under the Next Generation EU plan, which allocates around €60 billion over three years, including €3.5 billion directly for housing modernisation projects.