FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Building permits for apartments in Germany fell 27% during the first half of the year, Germany's statistics office disclosed on Friday, the latest sign of hardship for the struggling construction and real estate industry.

The nosedive in permits comes amid calls from firms and some politicians for relief to support the industry ahead of a meeting next month with Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

In recent weeks, a series of property developers have registered insolvency, while figures have shown construction has plummeted and residential property prices have fallen.

Authorities granted permits for the building of 135,200 apartments in the first half of the year, which is 50,600 fewer than a year earlier.

Germany aims to build 400,000 apartments a year, but has struggled.

"The balance sheet for the first half of 2023 shows an incredibly bleak picture in residential construction," said Tim-Oliver Mueller, head of the German Construction Industry Federation.

(Reporting by Tom Sims, Editing by Rachel More)