There was a 43.7 percent drop in the number of building permits issued in Greece in October 2012 compared to a year earlier, the Hellenic Statistical Authority said on Wednesday.

Just 1,506 permits were issued during the month, which corresponds to 0.27 million m2 of surface area and 1.07 million m3 of volume.

That represents a 32.4 percent decrease in surface and a 27 percent decrease in volume, compared to the same month in 2011.

“In the last twelve months, from November 2011 until October 2012, the total Building Activity in the whole country, calculated on the basis of the number of issued building permits, amounted to 26127,” said ELSTAT.

“This figure corresponds to 4,754.3 thousand m2 of surface and 18,500.3 thousand m3 of volume, reflecting a 31.6 percent decrease in the number of building permits, 31.2 percent decrease in surface and a 29.2 % decrease in volume, compared with the corresponding period of November 2010 until October 2011,” the agency added.