The latest structural survey conducted by the Chambers of Architects among more than 14,000 self-employed and employed members paints a sobering picture of the profession's economic situation for the reporting year 2025. While total practice output rose to a median of EUR 92,500 per full-time equivalent, an average surplus of merely EUR 20,800 remains after deducting owner salaries. Nearly a third of planning practices (32 per cent) recorded no surplus or operated at a deficit after owner remuneration was drawn.
In terms of project work, the operational focus has fundamentally shifted: building within existing stock now dominates day-to-day business, while the share of new construction fell noticeably to 39 per cent in recent years. At the same time, practices face structural market shifts. Although owners generated an average of 59 per cent of their turnover on the basis of the Fee Structure for Architects and Engineers (HOAI), 43 per cent of practices now feel a marked intensification of price competition following the 2019 HOAI ruling, a noticeable rise from 34 per cent in the 2024 survey year.
Delayed approval procedures and procurement hurdles
To make matters worse, project durations are lengthening across the board. For comparable schemes, 60 per cent of planning practices report prolonged timeframes in approval planning (service phase 4), whereas only eleven per cent report shorter periods. Delays also clearly predominate in outline and detailed design. These extended timelines tie up staff capacities without automatically leading to higher fees.
- —Procurement procedures: Around 50 per cent of practices take part in VgV public procurement procedures, but criticise disproportionate reference requirements, high administrative burden and a one-sided weighting on price.
- —Competitions: Only 17 per cent of architectural practices participate in design competitions; for two thirds of these participants, this involvement represents a loss-making activity.
- —Practice structures: The average firm size increased slightly to 4.8 people, with 87 per cent of practices employing fewer than ten people, although only a minority of salaried staff now work in practices of this size.
Demographic shift and salary levels across the profession
Alongside the economic challenges, the ageing of the sector continues to advance. The average age of self-employed chamber members climbed to 56 years, with the share of those aged over 60 standing at 35 per cent. Furthermore, the proportion of self-employed members dropped to 29 per cent, of whom a good third operate as sole practitioners. Employed members are younger, with an average age of 48 years; 47 per cent of them work in planning practices, 30 per cent in the public sector and 23 per cent in private industry, primarily in the construction and real estate sectors.
The median gross annual salary of employed chamber members increased across all sectors by ten per cent to EUR 74,872. However, at six per cent, salary growth in independent planning practices was noticeably weaker than in the real estate sector or the public service. Against this backdrop, Andrea Gebhard, President of the Federal Chamber of German Architects (Bundesarchitektenkammer), stressed that many practices were under intense economic pressure. Growing requirements, longer procedures and fiercer price competition made viable fees and competitive salaries harder to achieve, noting that anyone seeking to secure design quality and skilled staff must improve the economic framework conditions for practices.
