Twice As Many Housing Permits Were Granted In Málaga In Q1 2017

16 May 2017 – La Opinión de Málaga

The province of Málaga has seen a sharp rise in the number of building permits granted for the construction of new homes during the first quarter of the year with respect to last year and as such, it is recording its best start to the year since the crisis, providing further evidence of the recovery that began in the sector a few years ago.

Specifically, 1,397 housing permits were granted by Málaga’s College of Architects during the first quarter of the year, more than double (631) the figure recorded during the same period in 2016 (a rise of 121% to be precise). To find the highest number of permits granted in the province during the first quarter in recent years, we have to go back to 2008, when almost 4,900 were granted, a year that also marked the start of the recession.

The number of permits dipped to a historical minimum in Málaga in 2014 (when only 798 were granted in the whole year) and since then the heat of the general economic recovery has boosted the figures. In total, 2,454 permits were granted in 2015 and 3,041 in 2016. The data for the start of 2017, which was published at the beginning of May by the College of Architects, confirms the upward trend, and augurs a further increase this year, provided nothing out of the ordinary happens. In fact, during the first quarter, more housing permits have been granted than in the years 2012 (1,134), 2013 (904) and 2014 (798) in total, which were veritable years of drought in the sector. Nevertheless, the number is still a long way below the pre-recession figures (for example, in 2007, more than 27,000 permits were granted). (…).

The college of architects believe that the objective for the province should be to grow year on year to reach an annual volume of around 20,000 housing permits by 2020, which would be sufficient to meet the natural demand of the Malagan population, as well as to supply buyers from further afield, be they domestic or foreign, in search of a second holiday home. (…).

Returning to the data for the start of 2017, the statistics from the College of Architects reveal that the housing permits granted between January and March were primarily concentrated in the towns of Málaga capital (369), Estepona (238) and Rincón de la Victoria (235). Those three towns accounted for 60% of the permits granted in the province during the first quarter of the year. Behind them came the following towns: Fuengirola (127), Mijas (100), Ojén (76), Manilva (67) and Marbella (52). (…).

The number of finished homes rises

In terms of the number of finished homes, the figures for the first quarter of 2017 also show an increase. The College of Architects notes that between January and March, 504 properties were finished in Málaga, representing a significant increase of 84% compared to the first quarter in 2016. The finished home statistics dipped to historical lows in 2015 (when only 1,134 homes were completed during the entire year) and have increased only slightly since then (1,235 in 2016). (…).

Original story: La Opinión de Málaga (by José Vicente Rodríguez)

Translation: Carmel Drake