More new houses built

The number of new houses completed in the first quarter of 2006 totalled 12.5 thousand, an increase by 31 percent compared to last year’s first quarter. For the third consecutive year, more houses were built in the first quarter.

Increase in number of houses completed

In the first quarter of 2006, almost 3 thousand more houses were completed than in the same quarter of 2005. With a total of only 7.5 thousand, the lowest number of houses completed in the first quarter was recorded in 2003.

Houses built in the first quarter

More building permits granted

In the first quarter of 2006, municipal authorities issued more than 23 thousand building permits, an increase by over 6 thousand compared to the first three months of 2005.
The amount of building permits issued is an indication of the number of houses projected to be built in the near future. The average period between permit granting and completion of a dwelling ranges between eighteen and twenty-four months.

Majority of new houses built in North Holland

The province where most new houses were built is North Holland. The increase on last year’s first quarter is nearly 880. North Holland is followed by the provinces of South Holland and Utrecht where respectively 605 and 570 more new houses were built than in the first quarter of 2005. In the provinces of Overijssel, Zeeland and Groningen, on the other hand, fewer houses were completed in the first quarter of 2006 than in the same period one year previously.

Houses completed, 1st quarter of 2006

More building permits granted in North Holland and Utrecht

In the first quarter of 2006, the number of houses for which building permits were granted was 38 percent up on the same period one year previously.
In North Holland, the number of houses for which building permits were issued, rose by more than 2,700. The municipalities of Amsterdam and Aalsmeer were chiefly accountable for the increase. In the province of Utrecht and particularly in the municipality of Utrecht, the increase was more than 1,300.
In only two provinces, i.e. North Brabant and Flevoland, the number of houses for which building permits were granted, diminished.

Building permits granted, 1st quarter of 2006

Caroline van Houwelingen