In the first three months 2023 there was a decrease in building permits and buildings in Portugal as compared to the very same duration during last year. In accordance to a report drafted by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the number of new buildings fell to 6200 and the number of completed buildings dropped to 3700. There was also a reduction in licensing for building rehabilitation works.
A rise in Alagarve and Madeira
Despite the decrease that was being experienced across the country, the two regions of Alagarve and Madeira showed quite an increase in the total number of building permits that were being issued in the areas. Alagarve and Madeira showed an increase of 12.2% and 1.6% respectively.
Lisbon metropolitan area showed the greatest decrease in the number of building permits issued. It was followed by the North and autonomous region of Acores
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Completion of buildings
A total of 3700 buildings were completed in Portugal inclusive of improvements, new buildings, reconstructions and alterations which indicated a drop of 2.9% compared to the same period last year.
Family housing increase and decrease
According to the statistics of the INE, most of the finished buildings were new structures and 77.1% of them were meant for housing purposes. The areas that indicated this rise of completed buildings were Madeira (39.5%), the Acores (10.8%), and the Antlejo (5.3%), and the Centre of Portugal (1.9%). The biggest decrease occurred in the North of the country (-12.1%).
The total number of building permits rose by 13.3% as compared to the last three months of 2022, yet the total number of completed buildings fell by 1.8%.
According to a month-on-month analysis by the INE it was noted that there was a trend towards a continuous fall in building permits from October 2022 going ahead. February had indicated the biggest fall at -16.9%Â compared to the previous month.
