Statbel, the Belgian statistical office, publishes today the figures on building permits until November 2021.
Annual evolution
The number of permits issued for new residential buildings in the first 11 months of 2021 has increased by 12.6% to 29,517 buildings compared to the same period in 2020. The increase in the Flemish Region amounted to 10.1%. The number of permits issued for new residential buildings was 20.3% higher in the Walloon Region, and 27.4% higher in the Brussels-Capital Region.
| Belgium | Flemish Region | Walloon Region | Brussels-Capital Region | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 28,676 | 19,990 | 8,368 | 318 | ||||
| 2010 | 25,622 | (-10.7%) | 17,712 | (-11.4%) | 7,671 | (-8.3%) | 239 | (-24.8%) |
| 2015 | 20,324 | (-20.7%) | 14,373 | (-18.9%) | 5,746 | (-25.1%) | 205 | (-14.2%) |
| 2016 | 21,459 | (+5.6%) | 15,705 | (+9.3%) | 5,569 | (-3.1%) | 185 | (-9.8%) |
| 2017 | 20,800 | (-3.1%) | 14,451 | (-8.0%) | 6,159 | (+10.6%) | 190 | (+2.7%) |
| 2018 | 26,716 | (+28.4%) | 20,404 | (+41.2%) | 6,167 | (+0.1%) | 145 | (-23.7%) |
| 2019 | 25,128 | (-5.9%) | 18,849 | (-7.6%) | 6,149 | (-0.3%) | 130 | (-10.3%) |
| 2020 | 26,210 | (+4.3%) | 19,817 | (+5.1%) | 6,269 | (+2.0%) | 124 | (-4.6%) |
| 2021 | 29,517 | (+12.6%) | 21,818 | (+10.1%) | 7,543 | (+20.3%) | 158 | (+27.4%) |
| (Figures for the first 11 months - number of building permits for new residential buildings + evolution compared to the previous period) | ||||||||
Monthly evolution
For the most recent month available, November 2021, building permits were issued for 2,521 new residential buildings. Compared to October 2021, this is a decrease of 1.4%. In the Flemish Region, the decrease was 14.3%, which means that permits were issued for 1,705 buildings. The number of permits issued for new buildings has sharply increased by 45.6% to 808 in the Walloon Region. In the Brussels-Capital Region, permits were issued in November for the construction of 8 new residential buildings, compared to 12 buildings in the previous month.
| Month | Belgium | Flemish Region | Walloon Region | Brussels-Capital Region | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 1 | 2,572 | 1,921 | 639 | 0.0% | 12 | |||
| 2020 | 2 | 2,435 | (-5.3%) | 1,944 | (+1.2%) | 478 | (-25.2%) | 13 | (+8.3%) |
| 2020 | 3 | 3,180 | (+30.6%) | 2,565 | (+31.9%) | 602 | (+25.9%) | 13 | 0.0% |
| 2020 | 4 | 2,166 | (-31.9%) | 1,506 | (-41.3%) | 640 | (+6.3%) | 20 | (+53.8%) |
| 2020 | 5 | 1,732 | (-20.0%) | 1,273 | (-15.5%) | 452 | (-29.4%) | 7 | (-65.0%) |
| 2020 | 6 | 2,289 | (+32.2%) | 1,828 | (+43.6%) | 456 | (+0.9%) | 5 | (-28.6%) |
| 2020 | 7 | 2,221 | (-3.0%) | 1,637 | (-10.4%) | 572 | (+25.4%) | 12 | (+140.0%) |
| 2020 | 8 | 2,448 | (+10.2%) | 1,739 | (+6.2%) | 705 | (+23.3%) | 4 | (-66.7%) |
| 2020 | 9 | 2,316 | (-5.4%) | 1,706 | (-1.9%) | 592 | (-16.0%) | 18 | (+350.0%) |
| 2020 | 10 | 2,617 | (+13.0%) | 2,029 | (+18.9%) | 572 | (-3.4%) | 16 | (-11.1%) |
| 2020 | 11 | 2,234 | (-14.6%) | 1,669 | (-17.7%) | 561 | (-1.9%) | 4 | (-75.0%) |
| 2020 | 12 | 2,385 | (+6.8%) | 1,839 | (+10.2%) | 532 | (-5.2%) | 14 | (+250.0%) |
| 2021 | 1 | 2,552 | (+7.0%) | 1,897 | (+3.2%) | 643 | (+20.9%) | 12 | (-14.3%) |
| 2021 | 2 | 2,431 | (-4.7%) | 1,822 | (-4.0%) | 595 | (-7.5%) | 14 | (+16.7%) |
| 2021 | 3 | 3,558 | (+46.4%) | 2,648 | (+45.3%) | 887 | (+49.1%) | 23 | (+64.3%) |
| 2021 | 4 | 2,676 | (-24.8%) | 1,937 | (-26.9%) | 730 | (-17.7%) | 9 | (-60.9%) |
| 2021 | 5 | 2,663 | (-0.5%) | 1,954 | (+0.9%) | 698 | (-4.4%) | 12 | (+33.3%) |
| 2021 | 6 | 2,952 | (+10.9%) | 2,206 | (+12.9%) | 727 | (+4.2%) | 19 | (+58.3%) |
| 2021 | 7 | 2,545 | (-13.8%) | 1,871 | (-15.2%) | 646 | (-11.1%) | 28 | (+47.4%) |
| 2021 | 8 | 2,505 | (-1.6%) | 1,867 | (-0.2%) | 625 | (-3.3%) | 13 | (-53.6%) |
| 2021 | 9 | 2,558 | (+2.1%) | 1,922 | (+2.9%) | 629 | (+0.6%) | 8 | (-38.5%) |
| 2021 | 10 | 2,556 | (-0.1%) | 1,989 | (+3.5%) | 555 | (-11.8%) | 12 | (+50.0%) |
| 2021 | 11 | 2,521 | (-1.4%) | 1,705 | (-14.3%) | 808 | (+45.6%) | 8 | (-33.3%) |
| 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.