Czech construction in January increased year-on-year by 8.3%

Prague - Construction production in the Czech Republic increased by 8.3 percent year-on-year in January. After adjusting for seasonal influences, it decreased by 0.9 percent month-on-month. Builders started construction of more apartments during this first month of the year, but the number of completed apartments plummeted compared to the previous year. This was announced today by the Czech Statistical Office.
    Production in the building construction sector increased by 8.7 percent due to a low comparative base. Civil engineering increased performance by seven percent. The construction production index as a whole in January 2011, according to the Czech Statistical Office, was at the level of 2004 and was nearly 20 percent lower compared to January 2009.
    During January, 2,220 apartments started construction, which is seven percent more than a year ago. The number of apartments started in family houses increased year-on-year by 37.1 percent. "This increase was influenced by an unusually low comparative base from January 2010, when the number of apartments started in family houses fell by more than 40 percent year-on-year," the statisticians stated. The number of completed apartments fell year-on-year by 34.4 percent to 2,026 units in January.
    "The fact that more apartments are being built is only a result of the low comparative base. It is certainly too early to talk about a change in the trend of apartment construction. The housing market still awaits stabilization, and the discussed changes in VAT can support it only minimally," stated CSOB analyst Petr Dufek. According to him, the construction sector will still have to find its bottom this year. For now, the number of building permits, the value of construction, and the number of employees continues to decline, Dufek pointed out.
    The number of issued building permits decreased by 9.6 percent year-on-year in January, with 6,369 permits issued by building authorities. The estimated value of these constructions amounted to 23.6 billion crowns, down 17.6 percent compared to the same period in 2010.
    "The value of building permits was dragged down mainly by a decline in interest in the construction of photovoltaic power plants and also non-residential buildings," the statistical office reported. In contrast, estimated values for residential buildings and other constructions, mainly transport infrastructure projects, showed growth.
    The average recorded number of employees in companies with 50 or more employees in the construction sector decreased by 1.8 percent year-on-year in January 2011. The average monthly nominal wage of construction workers increased by 2.4 percent year-on-year to 25,026 crowns.
    Construction in the entire European Union, according to Eurostat data, decreased in December 2010 by eight percent year-on-year after adjusting for the number of working days. Building construction fell by 6.3 percent, and civil engineering dropped by 17.3 percent.