The number of construction permits during the year remained almost stable, at 15,346 permits by November 2014, a 0.4% y-o-y decrease. On the other hand, construction area authorized by permits (CAP) displayed a 9.47% y-o-y increase to 12,701,510 sqm by the end of November.
These respective decreases and increases in the number of constructions and in CAP signal a tendency among investors to pursue bigger construction projects as the average area of authorized construction per permit rose by 9.91% y-o-y by November. It seems that during a period of slowdown in the construction sector, only big players remain in the market or constitute the biggest market share.
The number of construction permits witnessed a 5.87% year-on-year (y-o-y) decline to 1,122 permits in November 2014. Noting that permits are usually issued at least six months after applications are filed, this decrease can be related to increased pressure resulting from the lack of agreement on a presidential candidate before the end of Michel Sleiman’s tenure. In addition, the construction area authorized by permits showed almost no increase from the same period in 2013, and only edged up 0.06% from November 2013. Regionally, Mount Lebanon and the South continued to capture the largest shares of total construction in Lebanon, with respective shares of 49.21% and 17.47%.