Romanians are planning to build more houses this year, as the number of residential building permits issued in August increased by almost a third (31.7%) compared to the same month last year. They also went up by 20% compared to July, totaling over 4,700 permits, according to the National Statistics Institute (INS).

The North-East region had the biggest advance, as the number of building permits issued in August reached 1,050, up 242 compared to August last year. It was followed by the South-Muntenia region, with 825 permits, and Bucharest-Ilfov region, with 688 permits.

People were more interested in building houses in villages, as 66% of the total number of permits were issued for rural areas.

Looking back to the first eight months, the number of residential building permits also went up by 7.4% year-on-year, to some 27,000.

editor@romania-insider.com