The decline on the construction market continues
According to Statistics Estonia, in the 1st quarter of 2010 compared to the same period of the previous year, the total production of Estonian construction enterprises in Estonia and foreign countries decreased 34% at constant prices.
In the 1st quarter of 2010 the production value of construction enterprises amounted to 3.0 billion kroons, of which the production value of building construction was 1.9 billion kroons and the production of civil engineering totalled 1.1 billion kroons. Compared to the same period of 2009, the volume of building construction as well as the volume of civil engineering decreased more than third. If up to now the decline has been caused mainly by the decrease in the volumes in building construction on domestic construction market, then the severe weather conditions at the beginning of this year brought about the 40% decline in the civil engineering as well. By the 1st quarter of the current year, the construction market had fallen to the level of the 1st quarter of 2003 in real terms.
The construction volume in foreign countries decreased 5% compared to the 1st quarter of the previous year. The volumes of building construction stayed on the same level as in the previous year. The decrease was caused by the civil engineering. In the 1st quarter, the share of construction in foreign countries was 12% of the total volume of construction.
Compared to the 4th quarter of the previous year, the seasonally and working-day adjusted construction volume decreased by 16%.
According to the data of the Register of Construction Works, in the 1st quarter of 2010, the number of dwelling completions was 663, i.e. 68 dwellings more than in the same period of 2009. More than a half of completed dwellings were situated in blocks of flats. Continuous cheapening of construction services and positive expectations for the improvement of the general economic situation have increased the demand for new dwellings. In the 1st quarter of 2010, building permits were granted for the construction of 841 dwellings, which is about three times more compared to the same period of 2009. The most popular type of building was blocks of flats.
In the 1st quarter of 2010, the number of completed non-residential buildings was 164 with the useful floor area of 84,000 square metres. The useful floor area of commercial and sport buildings increased the most. Compared to the 1st quarter of 2009, the useful floor area and the cubic capacity of completed non-residential buildings decreased.
The construction volume index and its trend, 1st quarter 2000 – 1st quarter 2010 (average of quarters of 2005 = 100)
