Housing construction still far from its pre-crisis level

Over the last three months, the number of building permits has remained "almost at the same level" (+ 0,5%) as during the previous three months, but is still far below (-12,4%). level which was his last year over the same period (December 2019-February 2020) "preceding the first confinement", according to the Ministry of Territorial Cohesion.

In absolute figures, 377.000 housing units were authorized for construction from March 2020 to February 2021, i.e. 79.500 less (-17,4%) than in the previous twelve months.

Housing starts are also falling, falling 7,1% from the previous three months, and 4,1% from the twelve months before the first lockdown in March 2020.

In detail, it is especially the construction of ordinary collective housing buildings that suffer: -25,4% of building permits and -9,4% of starts over the last twelve months, while residential housing held up better with + 0,3% in building permits and -6,1% in housing starts.

The construction of houses also fell: -15,1% of building permits and -9,8% of starts for grouped individual dwellings, against -9,5% and -10,5% for so-called pure individual dwellings .