Slovenia

Overall construction activity

Towards the end of last year, signs of stabilisation started appeared in the overall economy amid slightly less pronounced negative risks. The moderation of growth in foreign demand in the euro area was reflected mainly in lower growth in exports of some manufactured goods. Private consumption was increasing further at the beginning of the last quarter of 2019. Growth in exports and imports of services has slowed notably in recent months. In the first ten months, nominal exports were 7.6% higher year on year. Their growth thus remained lower than in the same period of 2018. In 2019, construction activity continued to grow, particularly in the segment of housebuilding. Growth was mainly due to higher private and public investments in new apartments, maintenance and rehabilitation of national transport infrastructure, while non-residential buildings recorded a marginal growth. In 2019, an overall growth of 3.3% in construction works was achieved. It was the third consecutive year during which growth was recorded. It was mainly based on an intensive increase during the first half of the year, while activity declined during the second half of the year, except for in December. The growth rate in building amounted to 3.4% and was mostly driven by residential building where activity increased due to favourable economic conditions, growing purchasing power and an easy access to bank financing. Civil engineering reached a growth rate of 3.2% thanks to continuous public investment in transport infrastructure. In 2019, total employment grew by 2.4%. In construction, it grew by 9.3%. Gross wages grew by 4.3% (2.7% in real prices) and net wages by 3.7% (2.1% in real terms). In construction, on average, gross wages increased by 2.1% and net wages by 1.5%. (-0.1% in real terms). The steady increase in construction activity resulted in first signs of labour shortages. The average residential property prices increased further in the third quarter, as did the number of transactions. In Q1 –to Q3, prices were 7.5% higher on average (9.8% in 2018). Price growth in 2019 was driven by price increases in existing family houses and flats outside Ljubljana.

Housebuilding

After five years of consecutive growth in the residential building segment, 2019 recorded once again an intensive growth rate of 12.7%. A high level of employment, solid savings of citizens and easy access to bank loans are among the main factors for optimism on the housing market, although the prices for new housing have been continuously growing in recent years.