Rising cost of raw materials slowed it down construction activity in May, according to Greek Statistical Office. In May 2022, 2,220 building permits were issued across the country, which corresponds to 459,866 sq.m. area and 2,206,868 sq.m. volume.

Overall construction activity was down 0.4% in building permits, 23.2% in area and 8.8% in volume compared to the corresponding month of 2021.

With regard to private construction in particular, in May this year, 2,197 permits were issued throughout the country, which corresponds to 426,732 sq.m. area and 2,033,480 sq.m. volume showing a decrease in the number of building permits by 0.6%, a decrease in area by 28.3% and a decrease in volume by 15.5% compared to the corresponding month of 2021.

In May, 23 permits were simultaneously issued for activities in the field of public construction, which corresponds to 33,134 sq.m. area and 173,388 sq.m. volume. The share of participation of public buildings in the total construction volume for May 2022 amounted to 7.9%.

In May, the volume of construction activity decreased by 8.8% year on year.

At a 5-month level, from January to May 2022, total construction activity showed a 0.9% increase in building permits, an 8.6% decrease in area, and a 1.6% increase in volume compared to corresponding five months of 2021. For the five months of 2022, in the field of private construction in the whole country, an increase in the number of building permits by 1.0%, a decrease by 8.7% in area and 3% in volume was recorded compared to the period January-May 2021.

Rising construction costs are expected to continue to put pressure on the sector, as evidenced by recent data released by ELSTAT.

Building materials prices are skyrocketing and hit new highs in July, with electricity leading the price dance.

The overall price index for materials for the construction of new residential buildings in July last year, in particular, showed an increase of 12% compared with the corresponding index in July 2021, compared with an increase of 4.1% recorded when comparing the corresponding indices of 2021 with 2020 year. .