Number of building permits down by 28 per cent
14 April 2008
The trend of a dramatic decrease in number of building permits issued continued in February 2008. According to the latest data by the Central Bureau of Statistics (Crostat), only 807 permits were issued, which is down by 28.1 percent compared to February 2007. The value of work performed was down by HRK 278 million to HRK 1.292 billion.
In the first two months of the year, the number of permits fell by 38 percent year-on-year, which is interpreted as an introduction to the construction crisis and a slowdown in the entire sector. Analysts expect this to reflect on the economy overall and GDP growth. One of the reasons for such a situation is in the new law on physical planning and construction, which conditions permits with the start of work on planned roads leading to the facilities under construction.
Other linked factors include the growth of interest rates on loans and decrease in home sales. The only positive indicator is a solid growth in value of work. In January and February combined, total value rose by 900 million to HRK 3.78 billion.