According to Statistics Estonia, 1 511 units of housing, with a total floor area of 137 000 m², were issued with building permits in Q3 2015. Issuance of building permits for housing grew 53% year on year, whereas the floor area of housing grew 21%.
The floor area of a mean unit of housing issued with a building permit was 91 m² in Q3 2015. These are some of the lowest levels in recent years. Based on this, it may be observed that building permits are being issued predominantly for apartments, whose floor area is dragging down the mean.
The high number of building permits issued for housing suggests that the potential for growth in housing offered for sale will increase. Given a situation where banks have constrained the financing of housing development, it is no wonder that a certain share of building permits for housing are left in the bottom drawer waiting for better times.
