Statbel, the Belgian statistical office, publishes today the figures on building permits until July 2019.
Annual evolution
The number of permits issued for new residential buildings in the first 7 months of 2019 has decreased by 12.9 % to 15,943 buildings compared to the same period in 2018. The decrease in the Flemish Region amounted to 16.1 %. In the Walloon Region, the number of permits issued for new residential buildings was 1.4 % lower, and the Brussels-Capital Region registered a decrease of 21.2 %..
Table 1: Figures for the first 7 months - number of building permits for new residential buildings + evolution compared to the previous period
| Belgium | Flemish Region | Walloon Region | Brussels-Capital Region | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 18,447 | 12,873 | 5,351 | 223 | ||||
| 2010 | 19,713 | (+6.9%) | 14,083 | (+9.4%) | 5,493 | (+2.7%) | 137 | (-38.6%) |
| 2015 | 12,704 | (-35.6%) | 8,932 | (-36.6%) | 3,641 | (-33.7%) | 131 | (-4.4%) |
| 2016 | 15,023 | (+18.3%) | 11,265 | (+26.1%) | 3,622 | (-0.5%) | 136 | (+3.8%) |
| 2017 | 12,217 | (-18.7%) | 8,043 | (-28.6%) | 4,058 | (+12.0%) | 116 | (-14.7%) |
| 2018 | 18,305 | (+49.8%) | 14,218 | (+76.8%) | 3,988 | (-1.7%) | 99 | (-14.7%) |
| 2019 | 15,943 | (-12.9%) | 11,934 | (-16.1%) | 3,931 | (-1.4%) | 78 | (-21.2%) |
| Table 1: Figures for the first 7 months - number of building permits for new residential buildings + evolution compared to the previous period | ||||||||
Monthly evolution
For the most recent month available, July 2019, building permits were issued for 2,565 new residential buildings. Compared to June 2019, this is an increase of 12.7 %. In the Flemish Region, the increase was 10.9 %, which means that permits were issued for 1,868 buildings. The number of permits issued for new buildings has increased by 18.9 % to 687 in the Walloon Region. A decrease of 21.4 % was registered in the Brussels-Capital Region, which resulted in 11 permits issued for new residential buildings.
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 | (0.0%) |
| 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 | (0.0%) | 1,676 | (+12.7%) | 430 | (-30.4%) | 12 | (-7.7%) |
| 2019 | 1 | 2,117 | (0.0%) | 1,547 | (-7.7%) | 560 | (+30.2%) | 10 | (-16.7%) |
| 2019 | 2 | 2,007 | (-5.2%) | 1,543 | (-0.3%) | 454 | (-18.9%) | 9 | (-10.0%) |
| 2019 | 3 | 2,474 | (+23.3%) | 1,893 | (+22.7%) | 566 | (+24.7%) | 15 | (+66.7%) |
| 2019 | 4 | 2,415 | (-2.4%) | 1,870 | (-1.2%) | 531 | (-6.2%) | 14 | (-6.7%) |
| 2019 | 5 | 2,089 | (-13.5%) | 1,529 | (-18.2%) | 555 | (+4.5%) | 5 | (-64.3%) |
| 2019 | 6 | 2,276 | (+9.0%) | 1,684 | (+10.1%) | 578 | (+4.1%) | 14 | (180.0%) |
| 2019 | 7 | 2,565 | (+12.7%) | 1,868 | (+10.9%) | 687 | (+18.9%) | 11 | (-21.4%) |
| 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.
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
