Building Permits for New Housing Units in Austria. Forecasts for 2014 and 2015

WIFO forecasts a slight decrease of building permits, totalling to 45,100 units in 2014 (–900 units or –2.0 percent). The decline affects mainly the number of flats which declines from 29,600 to 29,000 permits (–600 units or –2 percent) and one- and two-family houses, from 16,500 to 16,200 permits (–300 units or –2 percent). Given the unchanged economic conditions and taking into account the latest figures from Statistics Austria, the WIFO forecast from September 2014 remains unchanged. 2015 will experience a further drop to 44,400 construction permits in total (–700 or –1.6 percent), which is primarily due to less permits for flats.