Licences for construction/ rehabilitation increase almost 16%
Permits for the construction and renovation of residential buildings have grown by almost 16%, year-on-year, while the number of homes licensed for new construction has increased by 26.3%.
According to the most recent Housing Statistics Summary from the Association of Civil Construction and Public Works Industry (AICCOPN) released today, the number of licences issued for the construction and rehabilitation of residential buildings up to May this year totalled 8,641 – an increase of 15.7% compared to the same period last year.
The number of licensed homes in new constructions grew by 36.3% to a total of 17,120 new homes.
According to AICCOPN’s data, however, cement consumption in the national market totalled 1,654 thousand tons – a 2% drop compared to the same period of the previous year (suggesting some projects are using different materials).
Regarding the amount of new housing credit granted by banks, excluding renegotiations, this increased by 39.6% between January and May, to €9.124 billion.
The interest rate on housing loans was set at 3.57% in May – a reduction of 99 basis points compared to the same period last year.
In May, the median housing value, calculated for bank valuation purposes, registered a year-on-year increase of 17.1%, resulting from increases of 21.1% in the apartment segment and 10.4% in the house segment.
In detail, in the Algarve region – in the 12 months ending in May 2025 – 1,713 new construction units were licensed, which represents a 5% increase compared to the 1,639 units licensed in the same period last year.
Of the total number of licensed properties, 24% were studio or one-bedroom apartments, 37% were two-bedroom apartments, 27% were three-bedroom apartments and 12% were four-bedroom apartments or larger.
Lusa
