The number of completed dwellings in 2024 was the lowest in 6 years, the start of construction dropped to an 11-year low

The number of completed dwellings in 2024 was the lowest in the last 6 years, the start of construction dropped to an 11-year low. Up to 3 out of 8 regions had worse figures than the average before the pandemic in the completion of dwellings, and up to 7 regions were significantly behind when construction started.

Completion and, in particular, the start of construction slowed dynamically even in the 4th quarter, thus contributing to the low year-round values. In 2024, the number of completed dwellings in Slovakia dropped below 18 000, and the number of the started ones dropped to the level of 15 000. Up to 3 out of 8 regions had worse figures than on average before the pandemic, and up to 7 regions were significantly behind the start of construction. The most significant slowdown was in Bratislavský kraj, where the completion of dwellings decreased by 24% and the start of construction by up to 56% compared to the five-year pre-pandemic average.

In the last three months of 2024, 4 900 dwellings were completed in Slovakia¹⁾, which represented a year-on-year decrease by almost 29%. At the same time, it was by 19% lower than the average of the last quarters of the five years before the pandemic²⁾. Current values were the lowest compared to 4th quarters in the last 13 years. Dwellings in family houses continued to predominate in the structure of approvals, their share of the total was 67%.

The situation in the regions was very volatile. Only Košický kraj recorded more completed dwellings by 50% and Trenčiansky kraj by 3% year-on-year. The deterioration of the situation was manifested in six regions, even in five of them the year-on-year drop in the number of completed dwellings reached double digits. This also applied for the long-term leader in dwelling construction – Bratislavský kraj .

In the long term, compared to the pre-pandemic average²⁾, the number of completed dwellings was higher in Košický kraj, and in double digits in Prešovský and Žilinský kraj as well. On the contrary, all 4 regions in the west of Slovakia and also Banskobystrický kraj had a lower level of completion.

Start of construction in the 4^th quarter of 2024

The number of started dwellings³⁾ in the last quarter was almost 3.6 thousand housing units. It was a third less in the year-on-year comparison and at the same time significantly below the average values in the pre-pandemic period²⁾. Family houses represented 57% of the total number of dwellings started.

The start of construction slowed year-on-year in seven SR regions, the most dynamic, by more than half, in Bratislavský and Prešovský kraj. Compared to the pre-pandemic average, the number of dwellings started was higher only in Žilinský kraj (by more than 17%). In all other regions, they were significantly lower, in Bratislavský kraj by up to 70%.

Completed and started dwellings for the whole year 2024

Dwelling construction in 2024 was characterized by a general slowdown, which was reflected in a lower number of completed dwellings, a decreasing construction rate and also a slower start-up of new construction.

During the year 2024, a total of more than 17.6 thousand apartments were completed in the SR¹⁾, which was by almost 16% less than in 2023. In the long term, this was the worst result since 2017, but the current values were comparable to the pre-pandemic average⁴⁾.

The largest concentration of completed construction remained in the region around the capital, almost a quarter of the dwellings built in the SR in 2024 were in Bratislavský kraj. In terms of regional development, the number of completed dwellings increased year-on-year only in two regions, in Trenčiansky kraj by almost 7% and in Prešovský kraj by more than 3%. In the remaining six regions, the completion of dwellings dropped by double digits, most significantly in Banskobystrický and Bratislavský kraj, where the number of completed dwellings dropped by more than a quarter year-on-year.

In a long-term comparison, positive development was maintained in 5 out of 8 SR regions. Compared to the pre-pandemic average⁴⁾, approvals progressed by double digits in Trenčiansky kraj, Prešovský and Žilinský kraj, on the contrary, they slowed down by double digits in Bratislavský kraj.

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At the same time, during 2024, the slowdown in the start of construction of new dwellings deepened³⁾. A total of 15.3 thousand dwellings were started to be built, 22% less than in 2023. The trend of a double-digit slowdown in the issuance of building permits was manifested across the regions of Slovakia. Bratislavský, Prešovský and Nitriansky kraj registered the highest, more than a third of the overflows. The start of construction significantly accelerated year-on-year in Košický kraj, by more than 40%, and also more moderately in Žilinský kraj.

The number of dwellings started last year was significantly, up to 27% lower even compared to the pre-pandemic period⁴⁾. There was an evident decrease in building permits in seven regions, the largest in Bratislavský kraj by 56%.

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By the end of 2024, 77.2 thousand housing units were under construction in Slovakia, which was 2.7% less than at the end of 2023 and at the same time 3.2% more than the ten-year average.