In August this year, Attica saw a significant increase in construction activity, which is in complete contrast to the picture recorded in the rest of Greece, where the overall trend was downward. According to the Hellenic Statistical Office (ELSTAT), Attica saw a 45.9% increase in private construction in terms of permits, 89.9% in area and 113.3% in volume.

This is a clear sign of the strong movement builders are seeing to meet increased demand for new construction, both in the northern and southern suburbs. Another reason that may have prompted the increase in permits this August in Attica is the gradual entry of more institutional investors into the housing market, who are investing in new developments on a larger scale than the traditional construction company. In this context, at the level of eight months, that is, from January to August, private construction in Attica shows an increase of 27.5% in volume and 8.7% in terms of building permits.

On the contrary, the picture is different at the national level. In particular, the total volume of construction work amounted to 1,685 building permits, which corresponds to 439,626 sq.m. surface area and 1,835,466 cubic meters of volume, indicating a 12.6% increase in permits, a 0.6% increase in surface area, but a 13.8% decrease in volume compared to August 2021. Accordingly, private construction took the form of 1,667 permits, corresponding to 425,514 sq.m. surface area and 1,772,711 cubic meters of volume, indicating a 7% increase in permits, a 2.4% decrease in surface area and a 16.5% decrease in volume compared to the corresponding month of the previous year. The decline in volume in Western Macedonia was about 61.1%, in Thessaly the decline reached 58.9%, and in Central Macedonia – 50%.

In the country as a whole, the volume of new buildings decreased by 13.8% compared to August 2021.

In the eight months of this year, from January to August 2022, total construction activity shows an increase in the number of permits by 1.9%, a decrease in area by 12% and a decrease in volume by 4.3% compared to the corresponding period in 2021. In the same comparison, private construction shows an increase in the number of permits by 1.7%, a decrease in area by 12.9% and a decrease in volume by 4.4%.

During the last twelve months, i.e. from September 2021 to August 2022, the total construction activity amounted to 24,256 building permits, which corresponds to 5,586,425 sq.m. surface area and 24,921,594 cubic meters of volume. In relation to the corresponding period from September 2020 to August 2021, there was an increase in the number of building permits by 8.2%, area by 0.7% and volume by 8.5%.