European construction recovery continues

Photo: Aparejador

The construction industry's recovery is continuing in Europe, with activity building in the majority of countries.

Figures from the latest EUROCONSTRUCT summer conference show that the volume of construction services looks set to increase in 16 of the 19 member nations in the current year, while growth in nine countries is even forecast to exceed the 3 per cent marker.

In 2015, the residential construction volume in the 19 countries is forecast to rise by around 1.7 per cent to around 625 billion euros (in 2014 prices). In the new construction segment construction, demand looks set to grow by nearly 2.5 per cent to reach a volume of 252 billion euros. The number of permitted dwellings in newly-built residential buildings is expected to increase by over 100,000 units and a permission quota of 3.3 dwellings per 1,000 inhabitants looks set to be reached. Last year this figure was 3.1 units.

The upturn in demand for residential construction is mainly due to the improved economic situation in Europe. The number of unemployed fell last year for the first time since 2008. At the same time, though, the EUROCONSTRUCT report cautions that there is no cause for "excessive optimism", since the euro crisis is "far from over".

"In the mid-term the upwards development in European residential construction could therefore slow down considerably," warns an official statement by EUROCONSTRUCT.