After double-digit growth in 2022, volume sales rates in the construction sector have somewhat slowed down in 2023, according to data that INSTAT has collected from construction companies.

Usually, in the last three months of every year, there is an increase in sales of apartments, due to the purchases made mainly by immigrants in this period.

In the last three months of 2023, the volume of construction sales increased by only 1% from the 16.1% that was the increase in the last quarter of 2022.

Throughout the quarters of 2023, volume sales growth rates were lower than in 2022.

Despite the slowdown in growth rates, construction, and sales volumes are increasing in the construction sector, even though demographic indicators and high inflation are not curbing this trend as in Europe.

The real estate market in Europe is in a stationary phase due to the decline in demand, as the war in Ukraine has created a negative psychological effect on investment in real estate.

Despite the slowdown, local builders remain optimistic. After a drop of eight points in January 2024, the construction confidence indicator measured by the Bank of Albania increased by 6.8 percentage points in February. This indicator is about 25 percentage points above the long-term average.

The increase this month was largely driven by better estimates for current construction activity. In parallel, expectations for future employment and prices are rising.