Construction Permits Decreased by 1.48% y-o-y in October 2014

 The number of construction permits witnessed a 1.48% year-on-year (y-o-y) decline to 1,397 permits in October 2014. Noting that permits are usually issued at least six months after applications are filed, this decrease can be related to a wait-and-see approach by some investors due to the ongoing vacancy in the Presidential Office. However, the number of construction permits still showed a 9.83% increase to 15,612 by October compared to the same period in 2013. Construction area authorized by permits (CAP) also displayed a 10.26% y-o-y increase to 11,800,317 sqm by the end of October. The cumulative increase in construction area outpacing the cumulative increase in construction permits is indicative of a general tendency for investors to invest in bigger projects. Beirut posted a y-o-y increase from 21,395 sqm in October 2013 to 54,779 sqm in 2014. This change was reflective of the y-o-y change in investor sentiment in Beirut, with the average monthly construction area authorized by permits increasing by 79.36% y-o-y by October to 88,220.7 sqm. October witnessed a 1.44% y-o-y drop in construction area to 1,098,336 sqm, while the number of permits slipped by 1.48% for the same period in 2013. As for the regional breakdown, it is worth mentioning that construction remained concentrated in Mount Lebanon and the South, which captured respective shares of 48.43% and 21.08% of construction permits.

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