Statbel, the Belgian statistical office, publishes today the figures on building permits until June 2022.
Annual evolution
The number of permits issued for new residential buildings in the first 6 months of 2022 has decreased by 6.3% to 15,758 buildings compared to the same period in 2021.
The decrease in the Flemish Region amounted to 4.7%. The number of permits issued for new residential buildings was 11.2% lower in the Walloon Region and in the Brussels-Capital Region the level remained the same.
| Belgium | Flemish Region | Walloon Region | Brussels-Capital Region | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 16,129 | 11,317 | 4,610 | 202 | ||||
| 2010 | 17,369 | (+7.7%) | 12,565 | (+11.0%) | 4,681 | (+1.5%) | 123 | (-39.1%) |
| 2015 | 10,947 | (-37.0%) | 7,697 | (-38.7%) | 3,145 | (-32.8%) | 105 | (-14.6%) |
| 2016 | 13,660 | (+24.8%) | 10,407 | (+35.2%) | 3,140 | (-0.2%) | 113 | (+7.6%) |
| 2017 | 10,654 | (-22.0%) | 7,031 | (-32.4%) | 3,526 | (+12.3%) | 97 | (-14.2%) |
| 2018 | 16,341 | (+53.4%) | 12,831 | (+82.5%) | 3,425 | (-2.9%) | 85 | (-12.4%) |
| 2019 | 13,375 | (-18.2%) | 10,106 | (-21.2%) | 3,195 | (-6.7%) | 74 | (-12.9%) |
| 2020 | 14,377 | (+7.5%) | 11,037 | (+9.2%) | 3,270 | (+2.3%) | 70 | (-5.4%) |
| 2021 | 16,823 | (+17.0%) | 12,464 | (+12.9%) | 4,270 | (+30.6%) | 89 | (+27.1%) |
| 2022 | 15,758 | (-6.3%) | 11,877 | (-4.7%) | 3,792 | (-11.2%) | 89 | (0.0%) |
| (Figures for the first 6 months - number of building permits for new residential buildings + evolution compared to the previous period) | ||||||||
Monthly evolution
For the most recent month available, June 2022, building permits were issued for 2,359 new residential buildings. Compared to May 2022, this is a decrease of 13.5%. In the Flemish Region, the decrease was 10.1%, which means that permits were issued for 1,792 buildings. The number of permits issued for new residential buildings has decreased by 22.1% to 559 in the Walloon Region. In the Brussels-Capital Region, the number of permits issued for new residential buildings went from 15 to 8.
| Month | Belgium | Flemish Region | Walloon Region | Brussels-Capital Region | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1 | 2,550 | 1,897 | 641 | 12 | ||||
| 2021 | 2 | 2,428 | (-4.8%) | 1,822 | (-4.0%) | 592 | (-7.6%) | 14 | (+16.7%) |
| 2021 | 3 | 3,561 | (+46.7%) | 2,648 | (+45.3%) | 890 | (+50.3%) | 23 | (+64.3%) |
| 2021 | 4 | 2,677 | (-24.8%) | 1,937 | (-26.9%) | 731 | (-17.9%) | 9 | (-60.9%) |
| 2021 | 5 | 2,658 | (-0.7%) | 1,954 | (+0.9%) | 693 | (-5.2%) | 11 | (+22.2%) |
| 2021 | 6 | 2,949 | (+10.9%) | 2,206 | (+12.9%) | 723 | (+4.3%) | 20 | (+81.8%) |
| 2021 | 7 | 2,537 | (-14.0%) | 1,871 | (-15.2%) | 639 | (-11.6%) | 27 | (+35.0%) |
| 2021 | 8 | 2,497 | (-1.6%) | 1,867 | (-0.2%) | 618 | (-3.3%) | 12 | (-55.6%) |
| 2021 | 9 | 2,558 | (+2.4%) | 1,922 | (+2.9%) | 629 | (+1.8%) | 7 | (-41.7%) |
| 2021 | 10 | 2,558 | 0.0% | 1,989 | (+3.5%) | 557 | (-11.4%) | 12 | (+71.4%) |
| 2021 | 11 | 2,479 | (-3.1%) | 1,705 | (-14.3%) | 767 | (+37.7%) | 7 | (-41.7%) |
| 2021 | 12 | 2,335 | (-5.8%) | 1,704 | (-0.1%) | 621 | (-19.0%) | 10 | (+42.9%) |
| 2022 | 1 | 2,494 | (+6.8%) | 1,914 | (+12.3%) | 555 | (-10.6%) | 25 | (+150.0%) |
| 2022 | 2 | 2,447 | (-1.9%) | 1,862 | (-2.7%) | 570 | (+2.7%) | 15 | (-40.0%) |
| 2022 | 3 | 3,479 | (+42.2%) | 2,722 | (+46.2%) | 740 | (+29.8%) | 17 | (+13.3%) |
| 2022 | 4 | 2,252 | (-35.3%) | 1,593 | (-41.5%) | 650 | (-12.2%) | 9 | (-47.1%) |
| 2022 | 5 | 2,727 | (+21.1%) | 1,994 | (+25.2%) | 718 | (+10.5%) | 15 | (+66.7%) |
| 2022 | 6 | 2,359 | (-13.5%) | 1,792 | (-10.1%) | 559 | (-22.1%) | 8 | (-46.7%) |
| Monthly figures - number of permits for new residential buildings + evolution compared to the previous period | |||||||||
Long term evolution
Since 2007, the number of permits for the renovation of residential buildings was generally higher than the number of permits for the construction of new residential buildings. This changes briefly from the second quarter of 2018 onwards. From February 2019 onwards, the number of permits for the renovation of residential buildings is again higher than the number of permits for the construction of new residential buildings.
From 2003 onwards, more permits are issued for new apartments than for single family dwellings. During the years 2010-2011, both were at approximately the same level. Afterwards, the difference has been increasing again in favour of the apartments. The difference is the greatest in 2018. From 2019 onwards, the gap narrows again. In recent months, both have been at about the same level.