Euroconstruct outlined – at its 96th Construction Market Forecast Conference in Dublin on 1 December 2023 – a contraction
in construction across most member countries in 2023 and 2024, influenced by inflation, higher rates, and reduced demand.
Residential sectors are particularly affected, with total new housing expected to decline to 2016 levels by 2025. However,
civil engineering is anticipated to remain robust due to public sector investments in critical infrastructure. Forecasts point
to a slight recovery in total European construction in 2025 and 2026 as the macroeconomic environment improves.
Euroconstruct, the construction market research network, has adjusted downwards its forecast for the European construction
sector for 2023 and 2024 due to changes in the economic environment. The factors explaining the gradual slowdown in growth
and leading to a decline in construction spending in 2023 have become more entrenched since mid-2022, such as the weaker momentum
of the global economy, inflation, the change in direction of monetary policy and the resulting rise in interest rates. The
latest forecast now predicts a 1.1 percent decline in construction volumes in 2023, followed by a further 0.7 percent decline
in 2024. The lecture discussed the implications for residential, non-residential and civil engineering construction and outlined
the scenario for European construction up to 2025.
