Statbel, the Belgian statistical office, publishes today the figures on building permits until October 2019.
Annual evolution
The number of permits issued for new residential buildings in the first 10 months of 2019 has decreased by 6.1 % to 23,039 buildings compared to the same period in 2018. The decrease in the Flemish Region amounted to 8.7 %. In the Walloon Region, the number of permits issued for new residential buildings was 2.8 % higher, and the Brussels-Capital Region registered a decrease of 12.1 %.
Table 1: Figures for the first 10 months - number of building permits for new residential buildings + evolution compared to the previous period
| Belgium | Flemish Region | Walloon Region | Brussels-Capital Region | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 26,226 | 18,209 | 7,713 | 304 | ||||
| 2010 | 24,189 | (-7.8%) | 16,759 | (-8.0%) | 7,208 | (-6.5%) | 222 | (-27.0%) |
| 2015 | 18,532 | (-23.4%) | 13,093 | (-21.9%) | 5,247 | (-27.2%) | 192 | (-13.5%) |
| 2016 | 20,024 | (+8.1%) | 14,745 | (+12.6%) | 5,110 | (-2.6%) | 169 | (-12.0%) |
| 2017 | 18,681 | (-6.7%) | 12,879 | (-12.7%) | 5,649 | (+10.5%) | 153 | (-9.5%) |
| 2018 | 24,546 | (+31.4%) | 18,908 | (+46.8%) | 5,506 | (-2.5%) | 132 | (-13.7%) |
| 2019 | 23,039 | (-6.1%) | 17,266 | (-8.7%) | 5,659 | (+2.8%) | 116 | (-12.1%) |
| Table 1: Figures for the first 10 months - number of building permits for new residential buildings + evolution compared to the previous period | ||||||||
Monthly evolution
For the most recent month available, October 2019, building permits were issued for 2,405 new residential buildings. Compared to September 2019, this is a decrease of 2.7 %. In the Flemish Region, the decrease was 2.4 %, which means that permits were issued for 1,816 buildings. The number of permits issued for new residential buildings has decreased by 5.4 % to 573 in the Walloon Region. In the Brussels-Capital Region, permits were issued in October for the construction of 17 new residential buildings, compared to 7 buildings in the previous month.
Table 2: Monthly figures - number of permits for new residential buildings + evolution compared to the previous period)
| Month | Belgium | Flemish Region | Walloon Region | Brussels-Capital Region | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 1 | 2,403 | 1,714 | 672 | 17 | ||||
| 2018 | 2 | 2,478 | (+3.1%) | 2,028 | (+18.3%) | 430 | (-36.0%) | 20 | (+17.6%) |
| 2018 | 3 | 3,230 | (+30.3%) | 2,635 | (+29.9%) | 579 | (+34.7%) | 16 | (-20.0%) |
| 2018 | 4 | 3,186 | (-1.4%) | 2,632 | (-0.1%) | 542 | (-6.4%) | 12 | (-25.0%) |
| 2018 | 5 | 2,830 | (-11.2%) | 2,238 | (-15.0%) | 582 | (+7.4%) | 10 | (-16.7%) |
| 2018 | 6 | 2,174 | (-23.2%) | 1,546 | (-30.9%) | 618 | (+6.2%) | 10 | 0 |
| 2018 | 7 | 1,999 | (-8.0%) | 1,425 | (-7.8%) | 560 | (-9.4%) | 14 | (+40.0%) |
| 2018 | 8 | 1,937 | (-3.1%) | 1,344 | (-5.7%) | 585 | (+4.5%) | 8 | (-42.9%) |
| 2018 | 9 | 2,055 | (+6.1%) | 1,621 | (+20.6%) | 421 | (-28.0%) | 13 | (+62.5%) |
| 2018 | 10 | 2,181 | (+6.1%) | 1,651 | (+1.9%) | 518 | (+23.0%) | 12 | (-7.7%) |
| 2018 | 11 | 2,118 | (-2.9%) | 1,487 | (-9.9%) | 618 | (+19.3%) | 13 | (+8.3%) |
| 2018 | 12 | 2,118 | 0 | 1,676 | (+12.7%) | 430 | (-30.4%) | 12 | (-7.7%) |
| 2019 | 1 | 2,122 | 0 | 1,552 | 0 | 560 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 2019 | 2 | 2,012 | (-5.2%) | 1,550 | (-0.1%) | 453 | (-19.1%) | 9 | (-10.0%) |
| 2019 | 3 | 2,484 | (+23.5%) | 1,903 | (+22.8%) | 566 | (+24.9%) | 15 | (+66.7%) |
| 2019 | 4 | 2,418 | (-2.7%) | 1,874 | (-1.5%) | 530 | (-6.4%) | 14 | (-6.7%) |
| 2019 | 5 | 2,091 | (-13.5%) | 1,535 | (-18.1%) | 551 | (+4.0%) | 5 | (-64.3%) |
| 2019 | 6 | 2,277 | (+8.9%) | 1,687 | (+9.9%) | 573 | (+4.0%) | 17 | (+240.0%) |
| 2019 | 7 | 2,563 | (+12.6%) | 1,874 | (+11.1%) | 679 | (+18.5%) | 11 | (-35.3%) |
| 2019 | 8 | 2,194 | (-14.4%) | 1,615 | (-13.8%) | 568 | (-16.3%) | 11 | 0 |
| 2019 | 9 | 2,473 | (+12.7%) | 1,860 | (+15.2%) | 606 | (+6.7%) | 7 | (-36.4%) |
| 2019 | 10 | 2,405 | (-2.7%) | 1,816 | (-2.4%) | 573 | (-5.4%) | 17 | (+142.9%) |
| Table 2: 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 January 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
