News
16-08-2012 09:51 Belarus
Housing output in Belarus down 5.9%/yr in Jan-Jul to 2.641m sq m
Housing output in Belarus decreased 5.9% on the year in January-July 2012 to 2.641 million square metres (62.9% of the annual target) the National Statistics Committee said in a statement.
Belarus invested Br11.6 million in fixed capital in the housing construction sector ($1.391 bn), which makes 66.8% of fixed capital investments in January-July 2011 and accounts for 15.8% of the total investment volume.
Housing completion in the countryside amounted to 598,800 square metres, down 19.2% on the year in January-July 2012 (22.7% of the total output).
Experts attribute the decline in housing output to the impact of the 2011 financial crisis in Belarus: the Belarusian ruble lost 180% of its value to the U.S. dollar, while the refinancing rate of the National Bank of Belarus grew 34.5 percentage points in 2011 to reach 45% per annum. The rise in interest rates made housing loans less affordable.
According to the official forecast for 2012, Belarus is supposed to build 4.2 million square metres of houses.
Source: PRIME-TASS
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