The decline on the construction market slowed down
According to Statistics Estonia, in the 2nd quarter of 2010 compared to the same period of the previous year, the total production of Estonian construction enterprises in Estonia and in foreign countries decreased 17% at constant prices. The decline on construction market, which remained within 30% since the beginning of 2009 compared to the same quarter of the previous year, slowed down in the 2nd quarter this year.
In the 2nd quarter of 2010 the production value of construction enterprises amounted to 5,3 billion kroons (337 million euros), of which the production value of building construction was 3.1 billion kroons and the production of civil engineering totalled 2.2 billion kroons (197 and 140 million euros, respectively). Compared to the same period of 2009, the volume of building construction decreased 22% and the volume of civil engineering 8% at constant prices. The decline was caused mainly by the decreased volumes in dwelling construction on domestic construction market.
The construction volume in foreign countries increased 2% compared to the 2nd quarter of 2009. The increase was caused by the building constructions. The share of the construction in foreign countries was 11% of the total volume of construction in the 2nd quarter.
Compared to the 1st quarter 2010, the seasonally and working-day adjusted construction volume increased by 21%.
According to the data of the Register of Construction Works, in the 2nd quarter of 2010 the number of dwelling completions was 337, i.e. about three times less than in the same period of 2009. About three quarters of completed dwellings were situated in one-family, two-family or terraced houses. The average floor area of completed dwellings was 135 square metres, which is the biggest during the last nine years. The majority of completed dwellings were situated in the neighbouring rural municipalities of Tallinn. In spite of the cheapened construction service the demand for new dwellings was modest. In the 2nd quarter building permits were granted for the construction of 480 dwellings, which is about a fifth less compared to the same period of 2009. The most popular type of building was one-family dwelling.
In the 2nd quarter of 2010, the number of completed non-residential buildings was 183 with the useful floor area of 117,000 square metres. The useful floor area of commercial and office buildings increased the most. Compared to the 2nd quarter of 2009, the useful floor area and the cubic capacity of completed non-residential buildings decreased.
Construction volume index and its trend, 1st quarter 2000 – 2nd quarter 2010
(average of quarters of 2005 = 100)
Data on construction in euros have been published in the Statistical Database.