In 2024, Estonian construction companies completed projects worth €3.9 billion: €2.4 billion for buildings and €1.5 billion for infrastructure. Compared to 2023, building construction decreased by 9 percent, while infrastructure projects — including roads, bridges, ports, main pipelines, telecommunications and power lines and sports fields — declined by 2 percent.

According to Statistics Estonia's lead analyst, Merike Sinisaar, construction volumes have been decreasing for the third consecutive year.

"The downturn in the domestic construction market is primarily due to the decline in building construction volumes. Building construction has been shrinking since the second quarter of 2022, while infrastructure construction began to decline in the second half of 2024," Sinisaar said.

Meanwhile, the volume of work carried out by Estonian construction companies abroad increased by 5 percent in 2024 compared to 2023. "This growth was also largely influenced by building construction. The share of construction work done abroad accounted for 7 percent of total construction volume last year," Sinisaar added.

According to data from the Building Register, 5,815 new residential units were granted occupancy permits last year — a decline of nearly one-third compared to 2023.

Most of the new residential units are in apartment buildings, with three- to five-story buildings remaining the most common. Among the newly completed units, four-room apartments were the most prevalent, followed by two- and three-room apartments. The average new residential unit measured 93 square meters. The majority of these units were built in Tallinn, followed by the municipalities surrounding the capital and Tartu County.

Demand for new residential units has now declined for the fourth consecutive year. In 2024, building permits were issued for 4,973 residential units, a 10 percent decrease from the previous year. Apartment buildings remained the preferred type of housing.

Last year, 1,108 non-residential buildings were granted occupancy permits, providing a total of 832,500 square meters of usable space. The largest increase was seen in warehouse, industrial and commercial buildings. Compared to the previous year, both the total area and volume of non-residential buildings granted occupancy permits increased.

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