The data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) on September 4, based on the construction permits issued by local authorities in Turkey, show that in the first six months of 2009 the new floor area, the number of new buildings, the value of new buildings and number of new dwelling units in the country decreased by 13 percent, 8.9 percent, 20.1 percent and 13.3 percent respectively, all compared to the first half of the previous year.
Meanwhile, in the first half of 2009, based on construction permits issued, the number of new residential buildings fell by 8.6 percent year on year to 38,363, down from 41,951 in the first half of last year. Also in the first six months of this year, the floor area of new residential buildings declined by 11.1 percent to 35,385,219 m2, from 39,804,690 m2 in the corresponding period of 2008.