Building permits for new housing fall in the 4th quarter, 482.200 authorizations in 2022

In 2022, 482.200 new homes were authorized, slightly more than before the health crisis. The number of building permits peaked in August at 522.800.

This peak is not indicative of a construction frenzy, but follows an influx of permit applications at the end of 2021, before the entry into force of more ambitious environmental regulations (RE2020) for new construction.

The investigation of these requests during the year explains the inflation of the figures.

The high number of authorizations during the summer is also due to the fact that the municipalities had until August to issue building permits for housing eligible for sustainable construction aid as part of the recovery plan.

“As we feared, the demand for housing from individuals is weakening,” commented in a press release the Federation of Real Estate Developers (FPI), explaining it in particular by the difficulties of access to credit for individuals.

"The fall in building permits in the 4th quarter of 2022 does not bode well for the future: the new real estate sector is currently hard hit, while households still need housing", added the president of the FPI, Pascal Boulanger.

Housing starts, the development of which has since mid-2021 been disconnected from that of building permits, stood at 376.200 during the year, less than in 2021 or than before the pandemic.

But the ministry, which warns that its statistics in this area "include a significant degree of uncertainty", recorded a shudder in December.