Sharp decrease in the number of new building licenses by 23% in Palestine* during the first quarter of 2020, coinciding with the beginning of the Corona pandemic

A total of 2,211 building licenses were issued in the first quarter of 2020 which included 1,551 for new buildings.

The total number of building licenses issued in the first quarter of 2020 decreased by 17% compared with the fourth quarter of 2019 and decreased by 16% compared with the first quarter of 2019, where the number of new building licenses decreased by 23% compared with the fourth quarter of 2019 and decreased by 6% compared with the first quarter of 2019.

The area of licensed buildings (residential and non-residential) totaled 882 thousand m², of which new buildings made up 749 thousand m² and existing buildings comprised 133 thousand m².

The total number of licensed dwellings was 4,132 with a total area of 649 thousand m², of which 3,438 were new dwellings with a total area of 539 thousand m² and 694 were existing dwellings with a total area of 110 thousand m².

The number of new dwellings in the first quarter of 2020 decreased by 27% compared with the fourth quarter of 2019 and decreased by 21% compared with the first quarter of 2019.