In total, permits were issued for 16,600 homes. This puts the government off course to achieve the target of 100,000 homes per year. By 2030, there should be an additional 900,000.
The number of licensed new-build homes is an indicator of the number of homes that will be built in the near future. On average it takes about two years before something is in place.
Housing transformations, such as converting offices into homes, are not included in these figures. However, there are indications from the construction sector that these transformations will also decrease rather than increase, given the decreasing number of properties available or suitable for transformation.
Construction sector turnover
Statistics Netherlands also reported on Wednesday that the turnover of the entire construction sector in the first quarter was 8.3% higher than a year ago. Small construction companies with up to 10 employees saw their turnover increase the most. Their turnover increased on average by 13.6%. Mid-sized companies with 10 to 100 employees are converting 4.8% more.
The number of bankruptcies in the construction sector amounted to 77 in the first quarter. That is almost the same as in the first quarter of 2021, when there were 78.