Statbel, the Belgian statistical office, publishes today the figures on building permits until March 2022.
Annual evolution
The number of permits issued for new residential buildings in the first 3 months of 2022 has decreased by 1.1% to 8,450 buildings compared to the same period in 2021. In the Flemish Region, there was a 2% increase. The number of permits issued for new residential buildings was 11% lower in the Walloon Region, and 22.4% higher in the Brussels-Capital Region.
| Belgium | Flemish Region | Walloon Region | Brussels-Capital Region | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 7,453 | 5,323 | 1,995 | 135 | ||||
| 2010 | 7,154 | (-4.0%) | 5,077 | (-4.6%) | 2,015 | (+1.0%) | 62 | (-54.1%) |
| 2015 | 5,497 | (-23.2%) | 4,007 | (-21.1%) | 1,446 | (-28.2%) | 44 | (-29.0%) |
| 2016 | 7,681 | (+39.7%) | 6,114 | (+52.6%) | 1,497 | (+3.5%) | 70 | (+59.1%) |
| 2017 | 5,763 | (-25.0%) | 4,008 | (-34.4%) | 1,694 | (+13.2%) | 61 | (-12.9%) |
| 2018 | 8,130 | (+41.1%) | 6,392 | (+59.5%) | 1,685 | (-0.5%) | 53 | (-13.1%) |
| 2019 | 6,613 | (-18.7%) | 5,008 | (-21.7%) | 1,571 | (-6.8%) | 34 | (-35.8%) |
| 2020 | 8,188 | (+23.8%) | 6,430 | (+28.4%) | 1,720 | (+9.5%) | 38 | (+11.8%) |
| 2021 | 8,544 | (+4.3%) | 6,367 | (-1.0%) | 2,128 | (+23.7%) | 49 | (+28.9%) |
| 2022 | 8,450 | (-1.1%) | 6,497 | (+2.0%) | 1,893 | (-11.0%) | 60 | (+22.4%) |
| (Figures for the first 3 months - number of building permits for new residential buildings + evolution compared to the previous period) | ||||||||
Monthly evolution
For the most recent month available, March 2022, building permits were issued for 3,497 new residential buildings. Compared to February 2022, this is an increase of 42.8%. In the Flemish Region, the increase was 46.1%. The number of permits issued for new buildings has increased by 32.3% in the Walloon Region. In the Brussels-Capital Region, the number of permits issued for new buildings increased to 20 buildings.
| Month | Belgium | Flemish Region | Walloon Region | Brussels-Capital Region | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1 | 2,553 | 0.0% | 1,897 | 0.0% | 644 | 0.0% | 12 | 0.0% |
| 2021 | 2 | 2,430 | (-4.8%) | 1,822 | (-4.0%) | 594 | (-7.8%) | 14 | (+16.7%) |
| 2021 | 3 | 3,561 | (+46.5%) | 2,648 | (+45.3%) | 890 | (+49.8%) | 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 | 2,950 | (+11.0%) | 2,206 | (+12.9%) | 724 | (+4.5%) | 20 | (+81.8%) |
| 2021 | 7 | 2,539 | (-13.9%) | 1,871 | (-15.2%) | 641 | (-11.5%) | 27 | (+35.0%) |
| 2021 | 8 | 2,500 | (-1.5%) | 1,867 | (-0.2%) | 620 | (-3.3%) | 12 | (-55.6%) |
| 2021 | 9 | 2,563 | (+2.5%) | 1,922 | (+2.9%) | 633 | (+2.1%) | 7 | (-41.7%) |
| 2021 | 10 | 2,561 | (-0.1%) | 1,989 | (+3.5%) | 560 | (-11.5%) | 12 | (+71.4%) |
| 2021 | 11 | 2,485 | (-3.0%) | 1,705 | (-14.3%) | 773 | (+38.0%) | 7 | (-41.7%) |
| 2021 | 12 | 2,323 | (-6.5%) | 1,704 | (-0.1%) | 608 | (-21.3%) | 10 | (+42.9%) |
| 2022 | 1 | 2,504 | (+7.8%) | 1,914 | (+12.3%) | 564 | (-7.2%) | 25 | (+150.0%) |
| 2022 | 2 | 2,449 | (-2.2%) | 1,862 | (-2.7%) | 572 | (+1.4%) | 15 | (-40.0%) |
| 2022 | 3 | 3,497 | (+42.8%) | 2,721 | (+46.1%) | 757 | (+32.3%) | 20 | (+33.3%) |
| Monthly figures - number of permits for new residential buildings + evolution compared to the previous period | |||||||||
The striking increase that can be observed in March 2022 is due to the tightening of energy standards for building permit applications from 1 January 2022. At the end of 2021, relatively more building permit applications were submitted to avoid these stricter standards, resulting in a higher number of building permits issued 3 to 4 months later.
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.