Fewer building permits granted in Q3

The volume of building permits granted in July to September 2018 was exceptionally low, 5.8 million cubic metres, according to Statistics Finland.

The figure fell by 25.4 per cent from the stipulated period of previous year.

The number of permits granted was also lower than one year ago. The cubic volumes of all building types decreased significantly during the third quarter.

The cubic volume of commercial and office buildings declined most, by 43.8 per cent. Measured in cubic volumes, 37.5 per cent fewer building permits were granted for residential buildings than one year before.

In July to September, cubic metres covered by permits for residential buildings amounted to 1.8 million, while during the same period one year earlier, the figure was 2.9 million. Residential building construction decreased by 37.5 per cent. The cubic volume for all building types decreased from the year before, the cubic volume covered by permits granted for residential blocks of flats was under one-half of the volume of the year before.

In July to September 2018, the constant-price value or the volume of ongoing building production increased by 1.9 per cent year-on-year.

The volume of residential building construction increased by 3.9 per cent during the period and that of other than residential building construction by 0.2 per cent. Measured by volume, 20.9 per cent fewer building projects than one year earlier were started in the same period. The number of residential building starts was 9.0 per cent lower than one year ago.