House construction plummets by half

Another 659 housing projects are under development, down 40%, according to a report by the Ministry of Construction.

Twenty three more have been approved for construction, down 70%, and 30 projects were approved for sale to the public, down 63%.

The prices of apartments are down 6% the last six months of last year, while those of private houses and land are 10% and 8-11% lower.

The number of property transactions declined by 64% to 187,000.

The ministry also said 934 social housing units were built in the first six months and construction of nearly 18,800 others had begun.