Statbel, the Belgian statistical office, publishes today the figures on building permits until May 2020.
Annual evolution
The number of permits issued for new residential buildings in the first 5 months of 2020 has increased by 9 % to 12,111 buildings compared to the same period in 2019. The increase is the sharpest in the Flemish Region, where it amounted to 9.4 %. In the Walloon Region, the number of permits issued for new residential buildings was 8 % higher, and the Brussels-Capital Region registered a decrease of 3.7 %.
Table 1: Annual figures - number of new authorised residential buildings + evolution compared to the previous period
| Belgium | Flemish Region | Walloon Region | Brussels-Capital Region | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 13,199 | 9,237 | 3,779 | 183 | ||||
| 2010 | 13,766 | (+4.3%) | 9,954 | (+7.8%) | 3,718 | (-1.6%) | 94 | (-48.6%) |
| 2015 | 8,842 | (-35.8%) | 6,258 | (-37.1%) | 2,510 | (-32.5%) | 74 | (-21.3%) |
| 2016 | 12,055 | (+36.3%) | 9,348 | (+49.4%) | 2,609 | (+3.9%) | 98 | (+32.4%) |
| 2017 | 8,977 | (-25.5%) | 6,038 | (-35.4%) | 2,860 | (+9.6%) | 79 | (-19.4%) |
| 2018 | 14,162 | (+57.8%) | 11,279 | (+86.8%) | 2,808 | (-1.8%) | 75 | (-5.1%) |
| 2019 | 11,114 | (-21.5%) | 8,414 | (-25.4%) | 2,646 | (-5.8%) | 54 | (-28.0%) |
| 2020 | 12,111 | (+9.0%) | 9,204 | (+9.4%) | 2,857 | (+8.0%) | 52 | (-3.7%) |
| Table 1: Annual figures - number of new authorised residential buildings + evolution compared to the previous period | ||||||||
Monthly evolution
For the most recent month available, May 2020, building permits were issued for 1,753 new residential buildings. Compared to April 2020, this is a decrease of 20.2 %. In the Flemish Region, the decrease was 15.4 %. The number of permits issued for new residential buildings has decreased by 30.5 % in the Walloon Region. In the Brussels-Capital Region, permits were issued for 5 new residential buildings.
Table: Monthly figures - number of permits for new residential buildings + evolution compared to the previous period
| Month | Belgium | Flemish Region | Walloon Region | Brussels-Capital Region | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1 | 2,119 | 1,552 | 557 | 0.0% | 10 | |||
| 2019 | 2 | 2,008 | (-5.2%) | 1,550 | (-0.1%) | 449 | (-19.4%) | 9 | (-10.0%) |
| 2019 | 3 | 2,484 | (+23.7%) | 1,903 | (+22.8%) | 566 | (+26.1%) | 15 | (+66.7%) |
| 2019 | 4 | 2,414 | (-2.8%) | 1,874 | (-1.5%) | 525 | (-7.2%) | 15 | 0.0% |
| 2019 | 5 | 2,089 | (-13.5%) | 1,535 | (-18.1%) | 549 | (+4.6%) | 5 | (-66.7%) |
| 2019 | 6 | 2,269 | (+8.6%) | 1,687 | (+9.9%) | 565 | (+2.9%) | 17 | (+240.0%) |
| 2019 | 7 | 2,549 | (+12.3%) | 1,874 | (+11.1%) | 664 | (+17.5%) | 10 | (-41.2%) |
| 2019 | 8 | 2,201 | (-13.7%) | 1,615 | (-13.8%) | 572 | (-13.9%) | 15 | (+50.0%) |
| 2019 | 9 | 2,469 | (+12.2%) | 1,861 | (+15.2%) | 603 | (+5.4%) | 5 | (-66.7%) |
| 2019 | 10 | 2,392 | (-3.1%) | 1,817 | (-2.4%) | 560 | (-7.1%) | 16 | (+220.0%) |
| 2019 | 11 | 2,163 | (-9.6%) | 1,576 | (-13.3%) | 572 | (+2.1%) | 15 | (-6.3%) |
| 2019 | 12 | 2,325 | (+7.5%) | 1,813 | (+15.0%) | 505 | (-11.7%) | 7 | (-53.3%) |
| 2020 | 1 | 2,548 | (+9.6%) | 1,920 | (+5.9%) | 620 | (+22.8%) | 8 | (+14.3%) |
| 2020 | 2 | 2,425 | (-4.8%) | 1,944 | (+1.3%) | 467 | (-24.7%) | 14 | (+75.0%) |
| 2020 | 3 | 3,187 | (+31.4%) | 2,562 | (+31.8%) | 609 | (+30.4%) | 16 | (+14.3%) |
| 2020 | 4 | 2,198 | (-31.0%) | 1,505 | (-41.3%) | 685 | (+12.5%) | 9 | (-43.8%) |
| 2020 | 5 | 1,753 | (-20.2%) | 1,273 | (-15.4%) | 476 | (-30.5%) | 5 | (-44.4%) |
| Table: 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, but the difference remains small. 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, but in recent years the difference has been increasing in favour of the apartments.
New construction vs renovation Single family dwellings vs apartments
