Spain: Housing permit growth remains buoyant in Q4
The Spanish Board of Architects (Colegio de Arquitectos Técnicos) granted 6,096 new construction permits in December, according to data published by the Ministry of Public Works (Ministerio de Fomento). The figure was above the 4,898 permits approved in December of the previous year but below the 6,606 permits approved in November. On an annual basis, permits rose 24.5% in December, which was above the 11.1% increase recorded in November.
The moving three-month sum of permits totaled 20,097 in December, which represented a 24.0% increase from the same period last year. The figure followed the 27.3% expansion recorded in November. However, the current number of permits represents a mere fraction of the 268,266 permits that were granted during the July–September 2006 peak.
In Q4, the general index of housing prices produced by the Ministry of Public Works rose 3.1% year-on-year to EUR 1,559 per square meter. The increase was above the 2.7% increase recorded in the third quarter and marked the highest expansion since the height of the financial crisis. That said, the price per square meter is still well below the EUR 2,101 peak that was recorded in Q1 2008.