The surface area of construction permits in Lebanon, which reflects the level of future supply in the real estate sector, attained 498,074 sqm in March 2026 (lowest level since the month of December 2024 as the raging war suppressed new construction activity) compared to 912,711 sqm in February. On a cumulative basis, the surface area of construction permits came in 8.57% higher y-o-y during the first quarter of 2026 at 2,243,876 sqm compared to 2,066,699 sqm in the same quarter in 2025. The monthly evolution of construction permit areas between the March 2025 – March 2026 period shows a rollercoaster trend as depicted by the chart below:

As far as the geographical distribution of construction permits is concerned, the Mount Lebanon region continued to control the lion’s share of the total surface area of issued permits (958 thousand sqm <42.69%>), followed by the North (461 thousand sqm <20.53%), South (343 thousand sqm <15.28%>), Bekaa (184 thousand sqm <8.22%>), Beirut (174 thousand sqm <7.77%>), and Nabatieh (124 thousand sqm <5.52%>) regions.

Beirut enjoyed the highest exploitation coefficient which stood at 5,446 sqm per construction permit YTD March 2026, followed by the Bekaa (1,562 sqm/transaction), Mount Lebanon (1,380 sqm/transaction), South (1,085 sqm/transaction), North (694 sqm/transaction), and Nabatieh (620 sqm/transaction) governorates.