Fewer new homes

The latest forecasts from Euroconstruct suggest that no more than 1.7 mio new homes will be completed in Europe during 2010. This compares with a total of more than 2.6 mio in the 19 countries covered by the forecast for the year 2007. The number of new homes in 2011 will be a quarter down on the 2008 figure. However, while there is a threat of drastic market shrinkage in some countries (eg, Spain, with a drop of 62 per cent), other markets might well do better than simply recover (eg, Germany, with a rise of 13 per cent).