The Greek Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) has announced the construction activity survey data for March and the first quarter of 2025.

On an annual basis, in the period January-March, total construction activity shows a 29.1% decrease in the number of building permits, a 43.2% decrease in surface area and a 33% decrease in volume.

A recent study by IOBE spoke of serious signs of fatigue in private construction, and predicted a 20% to 40% drop in 2025 due to the New Building Code (NOC). At the same time, the completion of the Recovery and Resilience Fund projects in 2026 may, according to the same study, create a “gap” in domestic construction activity.

According to the latest data released by ELSTAT (Hellenic Statistical Authority), Greece’s construction sector experienced a significant contraction in March 2025, continuing a broader downward trajectory observed in recent months.

Monthly Overview: March 2025

Total Building Activity (Private and Public), as measured by the number of building permits issued across the country, reached 2,206 permits, covering 404,236 square meters of surface area and a total volume of 1,861,803 cubic meters. This represents a sharp year-on-year decline compared to March 2024:

• 41.3% decrease in the number of permits,
• 53.7% decrease in surface area,
• 43.3% decrease in construction volume.

Private Building Activity accounted for 2,194 permits, translating to 397,348 square meters and 1,825,995 cubic meters, reflecting:

• 41.1% drop in permits,
• 54.1% reduction in area,
• 43.8% fall in volume, relative to March 2024.

Public Building Activity, while significantly smaller in scale, saw 12 permits issued during the month, covering 6,888 square meters and 35,808 cubic meters. Its contribution to the total national construction volume was minimal, at 1.9%.

Annual Outlook: April 2024 – March 2025

Over the twelve-month period from April 2024 to March 2025, a total of 28,479 building permits were issued nationwide, corresponding to:

• 6,437,904 square meters of surface area,
• 29,390,732 cubic meters of volume.

When compared with the same period a year earlier (April 2023 – March 2024), the construction sector recorded:

• A 3.5% decrease in the number of permits,
• A 5.1% drop in surface area,
• A 4.4% decline in volume.

Private construction over the same period also showed a notable downturn:

• 3.6% fewer permits,
• 5.8% decrease in surface area,
• 5.8% reduction in volume.

Public construction accounted for 3.6% of total building volume during this twelve-month period.

Quarterly Comparison: Q1 2025 vs Q1 2024

The first quarter of 2025 (January–March) revealed even steeper contractions:

• Total Building Activity:
  • 29.1% decrease in permits,
  • 43.2% decrease in surface area,
  • 33.0% decrease in volume.
• Private Building Activity mirrored this trend closely:
  • 29.2% drop in permits,
  • 43.5% decline in surface area,
  • 33.3% decrease in volume compared to Q1 2024.

The data points to a marked slowdown in Greece’s construction sector, both in the short and medium term. The substantial year-on-year declines in building activity—particularly within the private sector—suggest underlying issues ranging from reduced investment appetite and economic uncertainty to possible regulatory or financing constraints. The negligible contribution of public works to overall volume further underscores the absence of counter-cyclical support from the state. This contraction is likely to have ripple effects on employment, materials supply chains, and local economies reliant on construction.