Statbel, the Belgian statistical office, publishes today the figures on building permits until September 2022.
Annual evolution
The number of permits issued for new residential buildings in the first 9 months of 2022 has decreased by 7.8% to 22,494 buildings compared to the same period in 2021. The decrease in the Flemish Region amounted to 7.1%. In the Walloon Region, the number of permits issued for new residential buildings was 9.8% lower, and the Brussels-Capital Region registered a decrease of 11.1%.
| Belgium | Flemish Region | Walloon Region | Brussels-Capital Region | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 23,557 | 16,340 | 6,934 | 283 | ||||
| 2010 | 22,665 | (-3.8%) | 15,755 | (-3.6%) | 6,722 | (-3.1%) | 188 | (-33.6%) |
| 2015 | 16,786 | (-25.9%) | 11,840 | (-24.8%) | 4,774 | (-29.0%) | 172 | (-8.5%) |
| 2016 | 18,389 | (+9.5%) | 13,603 | (+14.9%) | 4,635 | (-2.9%) | 151 | (-12.2%) |
| 2017 | 16,165 | (-12.1%) | 10,917 | (-19.7%) | 5,110 | (+10.2%) | 138 | (-8.6%) |
| 2018 | 22,346 | (+38.2%) | 17,248 | (+58.0%) | 4,978 | (-2.6%) | 120 | (-13.0%) |
| 2019 | 20,583 | (-7.9%) | 15,456 | (-10.4%) | 5,022 | (+0.9%) | 105 | (-12.5%) |
| 2020 | 21,364 | (+3.8%) | 16,131 | (+4.4%) | 5,129 | (+2.1%) | 104 | (-1.0%) |
| 2021 | 24,408 | (+14.2%) | 18,124 | (+12.4%) | 6,148 | (+19.9%) | 135 | (+29.8%) |
| 2022 | 22,494 | (-7.8%) | 16,830 | (-7.1%) | 5,544 | (-9.8%) | 120 | (-11.1%) |
| (Figures for the first 9 months - number of building permits for new residential buildings + evolution compared to the previous period) | ||||||||
Monthly evolution
For the most recent month available, September 2022, building permits were issued for 2,282 new residential buildings. Compared to August 2022, this is a decrease of 7.5%. In the Flemish Region, the decrease was 4.6%, which means that permits were issued for 1,705 buildings. The number of permits issued for new residential buildings has decreased by 17.3% to 558 in the Walloon Region. In the Brussels-Capital Region, permits were issued for 19 new residential buildings.
| Month | Belgium | Flemish Region | Walloon Region | Brussels-Capital Region | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1 | 2,550 | 1,897 | 641 | 12 | ||||
| 2021 | 2 | 2,428 | (-4.8%) | 1,822 | (-4.0%) | 592 | (-7.6%) | 14 | (+16.7%) |
| 2021 | 3 | 3,558 | (+46.5%) | 2,648 | (+45.3%) | 887 | (+49.8%) | 23 | (+64.3%) |
| 2021 | 4 | 2,675 | (-24.8%) | 1,937 | (-26.9%) | 729 | (-17.8%) | 9 | (-60.9%) |
| 2021 | 5 | 2,656 | (-0.7%) | 1,954 | (+0.9%) | 691 | (-5.2%) | 11 | (+22.2%) |
| 2021 | 6 | 2,949 | (+11.0%) | 2,206 | (+12.9%) | 723 | (+4.6%) | 20 | (+81.8%) |
| 2021 | 7 | 2,537 | (-14.0%) | 1,871 | (-15.2%) | 639 | (-11.6%) | 27 | (+35.0%) |
| 2021 | 8 | 2,497 | (-1.6%) | 1,867 | (-0.2%) | 618 | (-3.3%) | 12 | (-55.6%) |
| 2021 | 9 | 2,558 | (+2.4%) | 1,922 | (+2.9%) | 628 | (+1.6%) | 7 | (-41.7%) |
| 2021 | 10 | 2,558 | 0.0% | 1,989 | (+3.5%) | 557 | (-11.3%) | 12 | (+71.4%) |
| 2021 | 11 | 2,476 | (-3.2%) | 1,705 | (-14.3%) | 764 | (+37.2%) | 7 | (-41.7%) |
| 2021 | 12 | 2,332 | (-5.8%) | 1,704 | (-0.1%) | 618 | (-19.1%) | 10 | (+42.9%) |
| 2022 | 1 | 2,495 | (+7.0%) | 1,914 | (+12.3%) | 556 | (-10.0%) | 25 | (+150.0%) |
| 2022 | 2 | 2,444 | (-2.0%) | 1,862 | (-2.7%) | 567 | (+2.0%) | 15 | (-40.0%) |
| 2022 | 3 | 3,482 | (+42.5%) | 2,723 | (+46.2%) | 742 | (+30.9%) | 17 | (+13.3%) |
| 2022 | 4 | 2,253 | (-35.3%) | 1,593 | (-41.5%) | 651 | (-12.3%) | 9 | (-47.1%) |
| 2022 | 5 | 2,718 | (+20.6%) | 1,994 | (+25.2%) | 709 | (+8.9%) | 15 | (+66.7%) |
| 2022 | 6 | 2,389 | (-12.1%) | 1,832 | (-8.1%) | 550 | (-22.4%) | 7 | (-53.3%) |
| 2022 | 7 | 1,963 | (-17.8%) | 1,419 | (-22.5%) | 536 | (-2.5%) | 8 | (+14.3%) |
| 2022 | 8 | 2,468 | (+25.7%) | 1,788 | (+26.0%) | 675 | (+25.9%) | 5 | (-37.5%) |
| 2022 | 9 | 2,282 | (-7.5%) | 1,705 | (-4.6%) | 558 | (-17.3%) | 19 | (+280.0%) |
| 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. In recent months, both have been at about the same level.