According to the data from the Orders of Engineers in Beirut and Tripoli, the total construction permits witnessed a year-on-year (YOY) remarkable increase of 7.91% to reach 18,039 permits by December 2022. Similarly, the Construction Area Authorized by Permits (CAP) soared by an annual 5.18% to 8,396,053 square meters (sqm), mainly reflecting the continuous market behavior towards interests in investing in real tangible assets.
Compared to the same period last year, construction activity witnessed a prominent increase regionally. Across the governorates, Mount Lebanon, grasped 38.72% of the total permits, and accounted for 6,985 permits by end of 2022 compared to 6,592 previous year. However, for the South, it constituted 28.79% of the total permits, its respective number of permits reached 5,193 permits compared to 4,601 permits same period last year. In Nabatieh which holds 18.50% of the total permits, its share accounted for 3,338 by December 2022. In Bekaa, 1,709 construction permits were issued by December 2022 up from 1,526 in the same period last year, while in Beirut only 351 construction permits were issued by December 2022. The increase is more remarkable given the dearth of bank lending.
Indeed, the number of construction permits is largely considered a macroeconomic indicator as it typically increases in time of economic expansion. Consequently, the annual increase in building permits in Lebanon is a key indicator of demand in the market as the higher reading is definitely considered a positive for the economy.
Number of Construction Permits by December 2022
Source: Orders of Engineers in Beirut & Tripoli
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