Residential building permits down by 1.2 pct in 2016, after a 12 pct drop in December

In 2016, the number of building permissions for residential buildings decreased by year-on-year by 1.2 percent up to 38,653, on the background of a drop recorded in Bucharest, in Moldova and Walachia, data published by the National Institute of Statistics (INS) shows.

In December, the number of authorizations decreased by 12.3 percent compared to December 2015, up to 2,519. In December 2016, a number of 6,783 residential building permissions were issued, compared to 5,135 in 2015, meaning more authorizations were issued for the construction of blocks of flats.

In December 2016, most permits, 491, were issued for the construction of residential buildings in northeastern Romania, one of the country’s poorest regions, which includes six counties in Moldova. Next, comes the northwestern region, which comprises six counties in northern Transylvania, including Cluj region – with 405 permits issued in December, and south of Walachia, namely 350.

The regional distribution in the month of December 2016 compared to the same month last year, shows a decrease in the number of building permits issued for residential development in the following regions: northeast (-161 permits), Bucharest-Ilfov ( -141), southern Walachia (-91) and west (-38). Increases were registered in development regions: southwest Oltenia (27 permits), south east (23), centre (20) and northwest (8).” Most permits for residential buildings were released for development in rural areas, namely 64,7 percent of the total.

In 2015, the number of residential building permits issued stood at 39,112, up by 3.8 percent year-on-year. The year had seen the first increase in the number of building permits for residential development since 2008, when the real estate market recorded a peak, and the authorities issued a record number of permits, namely 61,092 permits.

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Between 2009-2014, building permits for residential development, which include blocks of flats, decreased by 38 percent.

Georgeta Gheorghe