Reference metadata describe statistical concepts and methodologies used for the collection and generation of data. They provide information on data quality and, since they are strongly content-oriented, assist users in interpreting the data. Reference metadata, unlike structural metadata, can be decoupled from the data.
This indicator is part of the overall STS indicator system which supports business cycle observation. The construction price indices are compiled for a choice of selected important products in types of construction (e.g. residential buildings).
3.2. Classification system
Product: CPA; Reporting units: NACE
3.3. Coverage - sector
Product: CPA 41.00.1 excluding 41.00.14 (new buildings only), Reporting units: mainly NACE roughly covers activities equivalent to NACE Rev. 2 Section F. Reporting units may also comprise enterprises with a secondary activity in Section F or industrial enterprises that are assembling own products in a building. All size classes are covered.
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
The price indices can be described as output price indices which do not refer to the construction industry but to selected types of buildings and other constructions. The collected prices are market prices awarded to contracts (not tender prices) and exclude VAT. In the calculation of the index VAT rate changes are taken into account.
3.5. Statistical unit
Contract prices for selected construction work categories.
3.6. Statistical population
Contract prices refer to construction measures indicated above which are executed by German enterprises in Germany.
3.7. Reference area
Country as a whole.
3.8. Coverage - Time
Since 1958 for former federal territory, since 1991 for Germany as a whole.
3.9. Base period
2021 = 100
Index as a result of survey on prices.
Quarter.
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
Up to 2022: The laws regulating the collection, treatment and dissemination of statistical data are the Council Regulation (EC) No. 1165/98 of 19 May 1998 concerning short-term statistics with implementing acts (e.g. Commission Regulation No 1503/2006 of 28 September 2006 concerning the definitions).
From 2022 and onwards: Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European business statistics of 27 November 2019, repealing 10 legal acts in the field of business statistics (EBS-Regulation) as well as the Federal Statistics Act (1987) and the law on price statistics (PreisStatG of 1958).
Commission Implementing Regulation 2020/1197 laying down technical specifications and arrangements pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European business statistics repealing 10 legal acts in the field of business statistic (General Implementing Act).
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
Data sent to Eurostat may contain confidential data to compile the European aggregate.
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
Confidentiality is guaranteed by section 16 of the Federal Statistics Act. It requires that respondents must be informed about their rights and obligations in providing statistical information. This rule is strictly followed. It also applies to the notification that individual data are only used for statistical purposes and - subject to protection procedures - for scientific purposes.
Furthermore, Chapter V “Statistical Confidentiality” of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council applies.
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
With regards to the confidentiality of data, methods of primary and secondary confidentiality checking have been developed and are being used.
8.1. Release calendar
The next release date is published on the destatis website.
Indices are simultaneously released to all parties. The data are available at the database “GENESIS-Online” for all users at the same time.
Identification of internal government access to data before release in accordance with Principle 6.7 of the European Statistics Code of Practice: The German Central Bank is given internal access to the data one day before the press release.
Quarterly.
10.1. Dissemination format - News release
Press releases are published by Destatis: Press releases
Indices are published at the time series database “GENESIS-Online”.
10.4. Dissemination format - microdata access
Not available.
10.5. Dissemination format - other
Data are transmitted to Eurostat.
10.6. Documentation on methodology
Documentation of the methodology related to rebasing is published in "Wirtschaft und Statistik". The methodology connected to the base year 2015=100 can be found in the release of November 2013.
10.7. Quality management - documentation
Standardized quality reports are published on the website of Destatis.
11.1. Quality assurance
The data of German official statistics enjoy a reputation of high reliability in Germany and abroad. Destatis has committed itself to assure and further enhance the level of quality already attained. In order to achieve this task – also in the ESS – the activities of destatis are based on quality guidelines. To assure quality in the long term, destatis applies a variety of systematic quality assurance measures, among others the European Statistics Code of Practice.
Quality is assessed via subjective criteria. However, quality checks are done throughout the whole process which, in turn, is evaluated permanently. Moreover, destatis has implemented a controlling system to monitor the compliance of transmission deadlines. The results of this controlling mechanism are for internal purposes only and therefore not published.
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
Main users of turnover indices are the European Commission (Eurostat) at the international level and the Federal Government and interest groupings of various industrial branches at the national level.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
Destatis conducts user satisfaction surveys in various sectors of statistics. The Statistical Advisory Committee (Statistischer Beirat) represents the interests of the users of federal statistics and regularly consults with destatis.
12.3. Completeness
STS requirements according to EU regulations and national laws are fulfilled.
13.1. Accuracy - overall
The accuracy is assessed as very good. Still, main sources for errors/potential for bias in the calculation are induced by survey data, in particular item non-response, over and under coverage, incorrect classified units in the sample frame, implausible data, incorrect signing of the non-response case and inappropriate estimation of missing values.
13.2. Sampling error
Actually, the population of price statistics is the entirety of prices of a certain product/contract type. As there is no source for identification of this assumed population, statisticians draw (random) samples of legal units instead.
13.3. Non-sampling error
The response rate is 100% as response is obligatory. Otherwise, fines can be imposed up to EUR 5,000.
14.1. Timeliness
Results are published no later than 45 days after the end of the reference month.
Data are collected around mid of February, May, August and November.
14.2. Punctuality
All publication deadlines are met.
15.1. Comparability - geographical
The construction cost index is geographically comparable.
15.2. Comparability - over time
Consistent time series of the recent base year are available since 1991. Time series prior to 1991 refer to the former territory of the Federal Republic of Germany.
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
There is no dissemination of information that support statistical cross-checks and provide assurance of reasonableness.
15.4. Coherence - internal
Construction price indices, sub-indices (by construction work category) and the respective federal states' sub-indices are compared for internal coherence.
The cost for reporting units are estimated at nearly EUR 40 per year. The overall costs for all reporting units are estimated at EUR 726,000.
17.1. Data revision - policy
The general revision policy of Destatis applies to national publications and data sent to Eurostat.
17.2. Data revision - practice
Figures are very rarely revised (MAR=MR=0). First releases are reliable.
The last major revision took place in May 2024, when the year 2021 was introduced as base year, which resulted in new computations of the indices and the introduction of new methodology.
Users are informed about the upcoming rebasing at least three months in advance via the FSO website. Documentation of rebasing is generally further given in "Wirtschaft und Statistik". The FSO also publishes the rebased figures on its website. For nearly three years, results are available for the old and the new base year. Differences in the change rates are usually very small.
Publication errors are corrected in accordance with the general FSO policy on non-scheduled revisions which deals with publication errors. A link to this policy is found is given in section 11.1 “Quality Assurance”.
18.1. Source data
The data set is based on a statistical survey. The sampling method is not formalized and the sample is not updated regularly. A judicious selection of reporting units is performed.
For the conventional construction prices the basket includes about 180 collection items (typical construction work categories) corresponding to all types of construction activities. 30,000 price notifications are collected for these 180 items.
18.2. Frequency of data collection
Data are collected quarterly.
18.3. Data collection
The questionnaires used in the survey are paper questionnaires for prices of selected construction work categories. Missing responses are requested by telephone, postal or e-mail reminders.
18.4. Data validation
Plausibility checks are generally performed by assessing changing rates of different construction prices indices, of different sub-indices (construction work categories) and of the respective federal states' sub-indice.
18.5. Data compilation
Non-response is estimated according to the average development of prices in the same construction work category.
Estimates for grossing- up to population levels are not applicable.
The type of indices is Laspeyres which are in general re-based every five years.
Due to the specific classification by type of construction activity, the weighting scheme is difficult to obtain. It is necessary to obtain the billing records and invoices for building construction categories on given types of structure which were performed during the base year or shortly before or after. Property owners have to be contacted. For each billing record, the prices of all construction work categories that can be allocated to a specific collection item are added up. This sum is then divided by the total price of the structure to obtain the relative weight of the collection item in question.
The work with respect to buildings is mostly done by an external institute nowadays.
18.6. Adjustment
No adjustment
None.
This indicator is part of the overall STS indicator system which supports business cycle observation. The construction price indices are compiled for a choice of selected important products in types of construction (e.g. residential buildings).
5 June 2026
The price indices can be described as output price indices which do not refer to the construction industry but to selected types of buildings and other constructions. The collected prices are market prices awarded to contracts (not tender prices) and exclude VAT. In the calculation of the index VAT rate changes are taken into account.
Contract prices for selected construction work categories.
Contract prices refer to construction measures indicated above which are executed by German enterprises in Germany.
Country as a whole.
Quarter.
The accuracy is assessed as very good. Still, main sources for errors/potential for bias in the calculation are induced by survey data, in particular item non-response, over and under coverage, incorrect classified units in the sample frame, implausible data, incorrect signing of the non-response case and inappropriate estimation of missing values.
Index as a result of survey on prices.
Non-response is estimated according to the average development of prices in the same construction work category.
Estimates for grossing- up to population levels are not applicable.
The type of indices is Laspeyres which are in general re-based every five years.
Due to the specific classification by type of construction activity, the weighting scheme is difficult to obtain. It is necessary to obtain the billing records and invoices for building construction categories on given types of structure which were performed during the base year or shortly before or after. Property owners have to be contacted. For each billing record, the prices of all construction work categories that can be allocated to a specific collection item are added up. This sum is then divided by the total price of the structure to obtain the relative weight of the collection item in question.
The work with respect to buildings is mostly done by an external institute nowadays.
The data set is based on a statistical survey. The sampling method is not formalized and the sample is not updated regularly. A judicious selection of reporting units is performed.
For the conventional construction prices the basket includes about 180 collection items (typical construction work categories) corresponding to all types of construction activities. 30,000 price notifications are collected for these 180 items.
Quarterly.
Results are published no later than 45 days after the end of the reference month.
Data are collected around mid of February, May, August and November.
The construction cost index is geographically comparable.
Consistent time series of the recent base year are available since 1991. Time series prior to 1991 refer to the former territory of the Federal Republic of Germany.
