Completion of apartments progressed rapidly even in the 2nd quarter of 2023, but the starting of construction significantly lagged behind last year

The number of completed apartments in the 2nd quarter of 2023 maintained double-digit growth year-on-year and was almost half as high as before the pandemic. The number of issued building permits dropped by more than a quarter, in three regions there was a decline by more than half. In Bratislavský kraj – a long time a leader in housing construction, the number of started dwellings decreased to a 20-year low.

In the second quarter of 2023, the housing construction progressed in the parameter of completed dwellings¹⁾, 5 211 apartments were approved in Slovakia, which represented an annual increase by 11.2%. At the same time, the number of completed dwellings was almost half as high as the average during the five years before the pandemic²⁾. Dwellings in family houses prevailed, their share corresponded to 58%.

For an objective assessment of longer-term trends in housing construction, in addition to the reference year-on-year comparison, the statistical office also provides a comparison with the average situation during the corresponding period in the five years before the pandemic (from 2015 to 2019)²⁾. The years 2020-2022 were more fundamentally affected by the pandemic and the restrictions related to it.

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In the regional comparison, the uneven development persisted, half of the 8 Slovak regions recorded dynamic increases in permits, on the contrary, in 4 regions there were significant year-on-year declines. Nevertheless, compared to the pre-pandemic period, all SR regions of the achieved better values and 3 regions even a growth by over 60%.

Traditionally, the highest numbers of approved dwellings were in Bratislavský and Trnavský kraj, where more than 1 000 dwellings were completed in the spring months. In both of these regions, these were high increases compared to the previous year, as well as compared to the pre-pandemic situation. The dynamism of construction was also evident in Košický kraj. The opposite trend, i.e. the year-on-year slowdown, mainly affected Trenčiansky, Nitriansky and Prešovský kraj.

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As for starting of construction, the trend from previous quarters continued, the number of started dwellings decreased both at the national and regional level. In total, only 4 668 apartments were started to be built, the pace of issuing building permits slowed down by up to 27.4% year-on-year and was by a tenth lower even compared to the five-year average of the pre-pandemic period²⁾. The decrease in individual regions ranged from 6.7% in Banskobystricky kraj to 61.5% in Košický kraj. In three SR regions, the number of building permits decreased by more than half year-on-year. Only 430 apartments started to be built in Bratislavský kraj, which was the least since the first quarter of 2003. The exception in this development was Trnavský kraj where there was more than a third increase in the number of started dwellings.

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By the end of June 2023, 79 000 housing units were under construction in Slovakia, which was less by 3.4% than a year ago and at the same time 9.2% more than in the pre-pandemic years⁴⁾. It is still true that six out of ten dwellings under construction were dwellings in family houses. There were the most dwellings under construction in Bratislavský, Žilinský and Trnavský kraj. The year-on-year construction rate decreased most significantly in Bratislavský kraj by 15.5%, and by 10% in Košický, Žilinský and Trenčiansky kraj as well. In the other regions, it rose to 2.6%.

In total, for the first half of 2023, 9 789 new dwellings were completed in Slovakia, which represented a year-on-year increase by almost 12%. At the same time, 8 349 apartments started to be built, which was almost a quarter less year-on-year. From a regional perspective, the highest level of completion was in Bratislavský kraj and the highest starting of construction was in Trnavský kraj.