The Romanian authorities issued construction permits for 8.36 million square meters of residential buildings in the 12 months ending February, 26% less compared to the previous 12-month period and 24% less compared to 2019, the statistics office INS announced. 

The figures don’t bode well for the residential construction segment, which already came nearly to a standstill in 2023, driven by high interest rates and general economic uncertainty. The volume of construction works on residential buildings remained virtually constant (+0.9 y/y) in 2023, after the annual growth rates of over 20% y/y on average in 2019-2021.

The plunge in the volume of residential spaces with a permit issued in the past 12 months was the deepest in Bucharest and its outskirts (Ilvov): -50% y/y and -33% compared to 2019.

Nevertheless, the Bucharest metropolitan area still concentrates 21% of the area with a building permit issued in the past 12 months in the whole country, compared to a 12.1% share in the total population.

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Yury Sevryuk/Dreamstime.com)