MEGA TV news presenter Yiannis Pretenderis also received an envelope with bullets inside
Greece Oct building activity (permits) +4.1%, 10-month -31.2%, 12-month trailing -36.9% (ELSTAT).
Building activity in Greece posts first rise in 20 months but overall picture grim
Greek building activity (as measured by the number of building permits) rose by 4.1 percent year-on-year (yoy) in October for the first time since February 2012, according to the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT). The respective surface area number recorded a modest 1 percent increase, while volume also rose 5.7 percent.
The aggregate figures, which strip out the monthly volatility, show that building activity is persistently deep in the red. In particular, the 12-month trailing average indicates that building permits have slumped 36.9 percent. Building activity to October also points to a sharp drop of 31.2 percent in permits. As expected, the bulk of total building activity (more than 90 percent) is related to the private sector.
The regions with the highest decline are Epirus and the Ionian Islands, which experienced a drop of 53 and 49 percent respectively over the trailing twelve months. Building activity in absolute numbers for both regions is among the lowest in the country.
The slowest decrease was recorded in Crete, Western Greece and North Aegean at 29 to 33 percent. Furthermore, the recorded drop in the Attica (Athens, Piraeus and suburbs) region, accounting for 22 percent of the country’s activity, stands slightly above average at 38.8 percent.
The unabated negative performance in building activity in the preceding months of 2013 follows a nosedive of about 40 percent recorded in each of the preceding three years, underlining that this specific sector is among the worst affected by the Greek crisis.
The evolution of housing loans balances, which is indirectly linked to building activity, shows a drop of 9.7 billion or circa 12 percent since its peak in August 2010. The rate of contraction in housing loans has been hovering at 3.1 - 3.7 percent in the past two years, with latest figure close to the low end.
At the same time, the housing non-performing loan ratio has more than tripled to 24 percent at the end of June 2013 from 7.4 percent at the end of 2009, according to Bank of Greece latest official data.
The ongoing recession and shrinking building activity have affected apartment prices, which fell 9.2 percent in Q3 with the number and value of transactions retreating by circa 30 percent.
On a positive note, some hopes for the wider construction sector have recently emerged regarding the four suspended motorway projects, namely Aegean Motorways, E-65, Ionia Odos and Olympia Odos. The amended concession contracts were voted in mid December raising hopes about the projects recommencing soon.
The Ministry of Infrastructure, Transport and Networks estimates the resumption of the four motorways would contribute to a GDP increase of 1.5 percentage points in the next three years and the creation of 20,000 jobs, while the EU has already approved financial support of 3 billion euros for the projects.