Slight increase in housing building permits in September

The number of building permits granted for housing increased by 2,8% in September, compared to August after two consecutive months of decline, according to data published Wednesday, August 29 by the Ministry of Urban Affairs and Housing.

In September, 33.745 housing units were authorized for construction, including 11.551 individual houses (-1,6% over one month), and 22.194 collective housing units (+5,3%), according to the Data and Statistical Studies Service (SDES).

This increase in building permits for collective housing benefits mainly residences, a category which includes establishments with services for the elderly, students, disabled people, tourists or social residences.

In September, 4.653 permits for residential housing were issued, a 50% jump in just one month. Looking at the last twelve months, the residential category is the only one to have accumulated more building permits than the average of the previous five years.

From October 2024 to September 2025, a total of 372.731 housing units were authorized for construction, 11,9% less than the average of the previous five years.

The number of building permits is recovering after an inexorable decline that began in August 2022, when it peaked at 532.300 housing units authorized over the previous twelve months.

As for construction starts, they slowed in September by 8,9% compared to August, after having seen a strong rebound since June. Over the last twelve months, "272.238 housing units have been started, 23,1% less than the average of the previous five years," the publication details.

The SDES uses the conditional tense to publish this data because it explains that it has collected less than 44% of the information on September housing starts and less than 80% of the information on building permits. This data may therefore be revised.

The service revised its methodology in September and now significantly revises the data from previous months each month.

Thus for August, the number of housing units authorized for construction was revised downwards by 1.045 and the number of construction site openings by -3.572.

New construction has been facing a serious crisis for three years due to rising construction costs, increased interest rates which have blocked the home purchase plans of many households and the end of support measures for rental investment.

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.