Building Permits for New Housing Units in Austria

WIFO expects in its building permit forecast a continued decline in the number of building permits in 2019. At –2.6 percent it will nevertheless be smaller than in the previous year (–16.9 percent). The reduction of around 1,400 units is largely attributable to multi-storey construction (–1,100 units or –3.1 percent), which is correcting the expansion of previous years. In 2019, however, the number of permissions for detached and semi-detached houses is also likely to decline slightly by –1.7 percent and 300 units, respectively. The negative trend will then continue in 2020. While the number of detached and semi-detached houses is stagnating (–100 units or –0.5 percent), the decline in building permits for multi-storey buildings continues to intensify (–1,800 units or –5.0 percent). According to the forecast, however, the number of building permits will continue to exceed 50,000 units.