Building permits up by 32.5 per cent in Spain

The recovery of the Spanish residential property market may not be as complete as some might hope for, with sales figures rising all over the country but price increases being rather more localized, but one of the most positive signs is that after practically grinding to a standstill after the crash in 2008 the construction sector appears to be stirring back into life.

The latest figures published by the Ministry of Development reveal that in November last year 5,934 building permits were granted for housing purposes, the highest figure in the eleventh month of the year since 2010 and 25% more than in the same month last year. At the same time, the cumulative annual total stood at over 59,000, representing an increase of 32.5% compared to the equivalent period in 2015 and the highest eleven-month total for five years.

These figures must be taken as encouraging, as they are 72% higher than those of three years ago, and of course they indicate that the existing stock of unsold homes is insufficient to cater for demand. However, the scale of the boom-and-bust cycle which swept the construction sector away in Spain is illustrated by the fact that in 2006 permission was given for over 860,000 new homes to be built, including 126,000 in September alone: in other words, the current level of construction activity is running at around 7.3% of where it was a decade ago!

Source: Spain News Today