In the 4th quarter 2016, building permits increased by 16.2% in comparison with the same period of the previous year (+18.9% in the 3rd quarter 2016), corresponding to 4.4 thousand buildings. There was a 18.8% increase in building permits for new constructions (+17.6% in the 3rd quarter 2016) while the number of rehabilitation permits increased by 12.1% (+16.7% in the 3rd quarter 2016). According to estimates, completed buildings recorded a 1.6% increase (-2.6% in the 3rd quarter 2016) totaling 2.7 thousand buildings. This was the first positive rate of change since the 3rd quarter 2005.
When compared with the previous quarter, the number of building permits increased by 4.3% (-2.9% in the 3rd quarter 2016) and there was a nil variation as regards completed buildings (+8.0% in the 3rd quarter 2016).
In 2016, the number of building permits issued in Portugal reached 16.6 thousand and completed buildings stood at 10.3 thousand, corresponding to a 11.6% increase in building permits vis-à-vis 2015 (-4.2%) and to a 6.6% decline in completed buildings (-19.2% in 2015).