Housing completions in Europe to 2005: downward trend continues

In 2002 almost 2 million dwellings in new residential buildings were finished in the 19 European countries that cooperate in the Euroconstruct group. By 2005 a drop is expected to 1.94 million units and it is unsure whether this will mark the low point, according to forecasts by the Euroconstruct partner institutes at the 55th Euroconstruct Conference in Budapest in June 2003. The downward trend prevails in single-family homes and in multiple-unit buildings. The development differs greatly in the individual countries, however: While it continues to expand in Central and Eastern Europe, the recession still prevails in Western Europe, particularly in Spain, France, Ireland and Portugal, and especially in single-family homes.