Spain: Housing permits increase for first time in the year in August
The Spanish Board of Architects approved 5,249 new construction permits in August, according to data published by the Ministry of Public Works. The figure was slightly above the 5,114 permits granted in August 2019 but below the 6,483 permits granted in July. On an annual basis, permits rose 2.6% in August, contrasting July’s 45.8% plunge and breaking a seven-month streak of declining permits.
Meanwhile, the moving three-month sum of permits totaled 18,384 in August, which represented a considerable 30.7% drop from the same period in 2019 and followed the 37.9% slump recorded in July. The current number of permits represents a mere fraction of the 268,266 permits granted during the July–September 2006 peak amid a booming housing market in the leadup to the Great Recession.