Cureus: Senior living demand continues in Germany

Cureus CEO Christian Möhrke says the mood at Expo Real 2026 reflects a sector still in waiting mode and a market broadly hoping for interest‑rate relief. 

Christian Möhrke, CEO, Cureus

“People are excited to be here, but you can feel the desperation,” he says. “Everyone is waiting for interest rates to go down.”

While residential development in Germany remains constrained, Cureus is one of the few players still building at scale. The company has around 1,000 nursing and elderly‑care units under construction, a significant pipeline in today’s environment. “Residential is completely down,” Möhrke says. “We are one of the only ones building.”

Cureus is now Germany’s largest specialist care‑home developer, owning roughly 8,500 units valued around €1.4 billion. Its strategy centres on highly standardised new‑build projects: 100–120‑unit homes on 4,000–5,000 sq m plots, typically financed with low‑interest KfW loans (a low interest government backed loan). “Ninety‑five percent of each project is identical,” Möhrke says. “Standardisation is what makes our model efficient.”

The company focuses on North Rhine‑Westphalia and northern Germany, completing around 2,000 units per year across 8–10 projects. Vertical integration, from site analysis and planning to construction, asset management and technical facility management allows Cureus to deliver a project about 15% below typical market cost.

Germany’s demographic outlook underscores the urgency. Möhrke notes that the country will hit its peak retirement age around 2040, requiring roughly 200 new care homes per year. Today, only 50–60 are being built, with Cureus delivering around 20% of that target per year.  

To navigate the current environment, Cureus is holding most new projects on its own balance sheet selling approximately three out of ten.

Despite the subdued atmosphere at Expo Real, Möhrke’s message is that senior living cannot wait for relief; demand is rising regardless of market sentiment.