Construction activity came to a significant halt at the start of 2025, with the sector feeling the negative effects of the Council of State’s ruling on the bonuses of the New Building Regulation, according to official data from ELSTAT.

It is no coincidence that the total construction activity (both private and public) in January 2025 across the country, based on issued building permits, amounted to 1,762 permits, covering 288,063 m² of surface area and 1,260,482 m³ of volume. This corresponds to a 17% drop in the number of permits, a 37% decrease in surface area, and a 38.2% reduction in volume compared to January 2024.

The market remains on hold, even though demand—especially in the residential sector—remains high. Notably, prior to the Council of State decision, the construction sector had already been experiencing growth in both permits and volume.

Detailed figures:

According to the official data, private construction permits issued in January 2025 nationwide amounted to 1,746 permits, covering 282,535 m² of surface and 1,234,455 m³ of volume—showing a 17.3% drop in permits, 37.2% in surface, and 38.4% in volume compared to the same month in 2024.

Public construction permits for the same month totaled 16 permits, covering 5,528 m² of surface and 26,027 m³ of volume. Public construction accounted for 2.1% of the total building volume for January 2025.

Over the last twelve months (February 2024 – January 2025), including the period before the Council of State ruling, the total construction activity based on issued permits amounted to 30,631 permits, corresponding to 7,114,222 m² of surface and 31,219,130 m³ of volume. Compared to the February 2023 – January 2024 period, this reflects an increase of 12.4% in permits, 13% in surface, and 6.4% in volume.

During the same period, private construction activity nationwide showed a 12.3% increase in permits, 12.7% in surface area, and 5.3% in volume. Public construction represented 3.4% of the total volume for this time frame.