The construction industry in Lebanon showed positive performance in the first four months of this year with the number of real estate permits increasing to 5,676, compared to 4,621 in the same period of 2015. Noting that permits are usually issued at least 6 months after filing the application, the growth in construction activity is partly attributed to the improving security situation and to the partial recovery of the industry from the low base reached a year earlier. In the same context, the construction area authorized by permits (CAP) also registered an upsurge increasing from 3.79M sqm by April 2015 to 4.30M sqm by April of 2016.
Accordingly, the average area per transaction widened by April 2016 from 819.55 sqm/permit in 2015 to 756.81 sqm/permit, which could indicate a possible drift in investors’ preferences in favor of smaller plots for their projects.
Worth mentioning, construction activity remained concentrated in Mount Lebanon, South Lebanon, and Nabatiye with 2,164 permits (44% of the total), 1,088 permits (22% of the total) and 822 permits (17% of the total), respectively.
Furthermore, the number of permits in April alone went up to 1,493, increasing from April 2015’s level of 1,284 permits. Meanwhile, CAP revealed a drop to 716.63 sqm from 819.01 sqm recorded in April 2015.
Number of Construction Permits by April
Source: Orders of Engineers in Beirut & North