Did he say anything about the amount of this budget? And how is it calculated?
I called the KfW hotline today. The budget is 3 billion EUR per year.
According to my current calculation, this amount is enough for about 2400 applications per week, assuming an average of 2 children per applicant. In fact, according to the latest figures, it is 1.73 children per application (107,088 children and about 62,000 applications / as of 18.01.2019 / source see press release).
Supposedly, currently well over 3000 applications per week are being submitted to the KfW, so the budget might not be sufficient if that is true.
For all homeowners currently in construction, the end of the year could actually become tight if the 3000 applications per week figure is correct. I have not found an official source for this.
Finally, my personal opinion:
The lady at the KfW hotline first told me not to rely on the funding under any circumstances. But what is the point of this funding if I cannot plan with it? Ultimately, this only leads to the so-called take-up effect, where those who depend on the funding cannot rely on it and then don’t build after all. Everyone else builds/buys anyway and just takes the subsidy along, as far as possible.