buildings permits Romania
(Credit: Trading Economics-INS)

Romania sees residential construction permits rise 2%

The number of building permits for residential projects issued in Romania in January-August 2024 increased by 2% to 23,772 year-on-year, the National Institute of Statistics (INS) said. The most important jumps were recorded in the Sud-Muntenia (+264 permits), Vest ( +202), Bucharest-Ilfov (+137), Nord-Est (+79) and Sud-Vest Oltenia (+64) regions.

On the other hand, decreases were recorded in the center (-243 authorizations), northwest (-31) and southeast (-11) regions, INS said in a monthly report.

In August alone, Romania issued 3,360 building permits, with a total usable area of 808,191 sqm (+3.1%). Of this total, 70.3% were for projects in rural areas. Residential building permits issued in August grew by an annual 7.9% and the total usable area increased by 10.6%. Non-residential permits amounted to 533 in August, down 1.5% on an annual basis and by 4.7% on a monthly basis, with a total usable area of 179,685 sqm.

In 2023, Romania issued 34,646 building permits for residential projects, down 21% year-on-year. Building permits in Romania averaged 3635.76 units from 2005 until 2024, reaching an all time high of 6291 units in May of 2008 and a record low of 1429 units in January of 2016.