site.btaBuilding Permits for Residential Construction Up 50.7 Per Cent in Q2 of 2017 from January-March

Sofia, August 3 (BTA) - In the second quarter of 2017, the local authorities issued building permits for the construction of 1,647 residential buildings with 5,815 dwellings and 781,456 sq m gross floor area, of 40 administrative buildings/offices with 74,019 sq m gross floor area and 1,968 other buildings with 948,262 sq m gross floor area, the National Statistical Institute reported.

Compared to the first quarter of 2017, the building permits issued for residential buildings increased by 50.7 per cent, their dwellings by 23.9 per cent, and the gross floor area by 31.3 per cent. The building permits issued for administrative buildings rose by 37.9 per cent, but their gross floor area decreased by 4.2 per cent. The building permits issued for other buildings grew by 72.5 per cent, and their gross floor area increased by 17.1 per cent.

Compared to the second quarter of 2016, the building permits issued for new residential buildings increased by 35.4 per cent, their dwellings by 31.0 per cent, and their gross floor area by 29.2 per cent. The number of building permits issued for administrative and other buildings grew by 8.1 per cent and 71.9 per cent, respectively, and the increase in their gross floor area was 224.7 per cent and 87.8 per cent, respectively.

The largest number of building permits for new residential buildings was issued in the regions of Plovdiv (245), Sofia City (207), Sofia Region (136) and Bourgas (133). Most dwellings are to go under construction in the regions of Sofia City (1,869), Plovdiv (1,411), Varna (432) and Bourgas (387).

The second quarter of 2017 saw the start of construction of 1,281 residential buildings with 3,842 dwellings and 526,070 sq m gross floor area, of 25 administrative buildings/offices with 7,797 sq m gross floor area, and of 1,277 other buildings with 798,653 sq m gross floor area. Compared to the first quarter, the number of residential building starts rose by 100.5 per cent, the number of their dwellings by 19.4 per cent, and their gross floor area by 29.0 per cent. The number of started administrative and other types of buildings increased by 56.3 per cent and 177.6 per cent, respectively, but the gross floor area of administrative buildings fell by 86.8 per cent, while the gross floor area of other buildings grew by 174.7 per cent.

Compared to the second quarter of 2016, residential building starts rose by 53.2 per cent, their dwellings by 29.8 per cent, and their gross floor area by 25.6 per cent. The number of administrative building starts increased by 8.7 per cent, but their gross floor area declined by 89.9 per cent. The other building starts showed a rise by 122.9 per cent, and their gross floor area by 177.1 per cent. The largest number of new buildings went under construction in the regions of Plovdiv (230 residential buildings, 6 administrative buildings and 146 other buildings), Stara Zagora (84 residential buildings, 3 administrative buildings and 200 other buildings), Sofia (101 residential buildings and 175 other buildings) and Bourgas (118 residential buildings and 111 other buildings).