Spain: Housing permits plunge again in May
The Spanish Board of Architects approved 5,986 permits in May, according to data published by the Ministry of Public Works. The figure was well below the 9,525 permits granted in May 2019 but above the 4,043 permits granted in April. On an annual basis, permits declined 37.2% in May, less than April’s 58.4% plunge which had marked the steepest drop in over seven years.
Meanwhile, the moving three-month sum of permits totaled 16,124 in May, which represented a 43.7% fall from the same period in 2019 and followed the 32.0% decrease recorded in April. The current number of permits represents a mere fraction of the 268,266 permits granted during the July–September 2006 peak amid a booming housing market in the leadup to the Great Recession.