The fall in building permits for housing was confirmed in October, before the reconfinement

Between August and October, 93.100 housing units were started, an increase of 3,8% compared to the same time last year, according to the Ministry of Ecological Transition, on which Housing depends.

But building permits, which make it possible to assess the future level of construction, have seen their number fall by 9,0% in one year, to 102.900.

These two trends confirm those observed a month earlier, for the period between July and September. Already, a slight rebound in housing starts had accompanied a persistent depression in permits.

New housing is therefore struggling to recover after a collapse during the second quarter, marked by strict confinement decreed by the authorities against the spread of the coronavirus.

At the time, housing starts, which indicate which homes have actually started to be built, had seen their number fall by almost a quarter. As for building permits, their quantity had fallen by almost half.

The situation did not turn around fully in the months that followed, despite a general deconfinement. And the October figures hardly take into account the new containment, introduced at the very end of that month and intended to last almost until the end of the year.

Over the entire twelve months at the end of October, the number of housing starts fell by more than 5% and that of permits by more than 12%.