The number of permits issued for completed homes in Hungary declined 54.1% to 1,123 in the first quarter from the same period a year earlier, the Central Statistics Office (KSH) said on Thursday. The number of home building permits issued fell 35.6% to 1,383 in the same period. The number of completed homes peaked in 2004 and has fallen each year since 2007. The number of building permits issued for homes has fallen every year since 2004. The number of building permits issued for residential property fell 32.1% to 845 in Q1 2013. The permits were issued for a combined 163,000sqm, down 28.2%. The number of completed homes fell 47.0% in Budapest, less than the nationwide average of 54.1%. The number of homes built by businesses continued to fall more than the number of homes built by private individuals. Businesses built just 333 homes in the first quarter of 2013, with the number dropping to less than one-third of the level a year earlier. Private individuals built 790 homes, or 57% of the level one year earlier.



