Building permits issued and construction started - Third quarter of 2026

In the third quarter of 2026, the municipal authorities issued building permits for 2 224 residential buildings with 8 624 dwellings in them and 1 140 519 sq. m gross building area, 12 administrative buildings/offices with 5 027 sq. m gross building area and 1 322 other buildings with 587 323 sq. m gross building area.

Compared to the previous quarter, the building permits issued for residential buildings increased by 0.4%, while the number of dwellings in them decreased by 25.0%, and their gross building area - by 15.6%. The permits issued for administrative buildings and their gross building area decreased by 20.0% and by 51.9%, respectively. The permits issued for other buildings fell by 3.3%, as did their gross building area - by 28.4%.

Compared to the third quarter of 2025, the building permits issued for new residential buildings decreased by 3.0%, the dwellings in them - by 36.3%, and their gross building area - by 22.7%. Permits issued for administrative buildings have shown a decrease by 25.0% and their gross building area - by 65.9%. The permits issued for other buildings grew by 4.0%, but their gross building area fell by 14.1%.

The highest number of building permits for new residential buildings was issued in the following districts: Plovdiv - 349, Varna - 260, Sofia (stolitsa) - 253, Sofia - 239, and Burgas - 180. Most dwellings are expected to be built in the following districts: Sofia (stolitsa) - 2 196, Plovdiv - 1 303, Burgas - 1 013, Varna - 960, and Pernik - 351 (Annex, Table 1).

In the third quarter of 2026, the construction started on 1 573 residential buildings with 7 296 dwellings and 917 800 sq. m gross building area, 16 administrative buildings/offices with 9 873 sq. m gross building area and 622 other buildings with 291 501 sq. m gross building area.

Compared to the previous quarter, the number of residential buildings started decreased by 11.3%, the dwellings in them - by 18.1%, and their gross building area - by 12.4%. The number of administrative buildings started was unchanged, but their gross building area went up by 6.6%. The construction of 6.3% more other buildings started, but their gross building area decreased by 29.3%. 

Compared to the third quarter of 2025, the number of new residential buildings started fell by 12.5%, but the dwellings in them increased by 13.2% and their gross building area - by 4.2%. The administrative buildings started and their gross building area increased by 77.8% and 35.5%, respectively. The other buildings started decreased by 4.9%, and their gross building area - by 30.3%.

The highest number of new buildings started in the following districts: Plovdiv - 241 residential buildings, 5 administrative buildings and 110 other buildings; Sofia (stolitsa) - 238 residential buildings and 15 other buildings; Sofia - 177 residential buildings and 31 other buildings; (Annex, Table 2).

Methodological notes

The quarterly statistical survey of permits issued for construction collects information about building permits issued by municipal authorities as well as for the started construction of new buildings according to their type and gross building area. This information may be used as an indicator of the future construction activity of enterprises in the country.

Types of buildings are classified according to the Classification of types of construction (CC) and are divided into:

• Residential - buildings for which the useful floor area is mostly used for permanent residential habitation.
• Non-residential - buildings for various purposes, including:

 - administrative - offices and buildings for administrative work of departments and other organizations and associations (representative buildings - banks, post offices, government department offices, conference and congress centres, low courts, municipalities);

 - other buildings - buildings used for different activities: production, trade, transport, education, culture, sports, agriculture, health, recreation and facilities for a short stay (hotels, motels, rest houses, huts and others).

Gross building area - a sum of all floors’ areas in external dimensions.

Annex

Table 1

Table 2