Building permits granted in Oct declined

Building permits were granted for a total of 7.9 million cubic metres, which is 5.6 per cent less than one year ago, according to Statistics Finland.

Examined by building type, the cubic volume covered by permits increased in commercial and office buildings. The cubic volumes of other buildings decreased.

In August to October, cubic metres covered by permits for residential buildings amounted to 2.3 million cubic metres, which is 8.6 per cent less than one year earlier. In residential building, the cubic volume of detached and terraced houses increased by 11.9 per cent from one year ago. The cubic volume of residential blocks of flats contracted by 4.8 per cent and that of detached houses by 17.3 per cent

During August to October, building permits were granted in total for 7,492 dwellings, the number fell by 10.8 per cent from the previous year.

The volume, or the constant-price value of ongoing building production, decreased by 4.7 per cent in August to October 2019 from the year before. The volume of construction of residential buildings declined in the period by 11.3 per cent and that of other than residential building construction, in turn, increased by 1.5 per cent. Measured by volume, 4.1 per cent fewer building projects than one year earlier were started in the same period.

The number of residential building starts was 10.4 per cent lower than one year ago.