The residential segment witnessed a slight rebound, of around 4%.
“2025 started very well for the construction field, with a high activity level and engines almost revved up. However, in the past weeks we’ve started seeing signs pointing to a possible slowdown in the coming period, confirming the signs we also see in Eurostat surveys. The declining new orders, coupled with a rising caution among companies in the field show us the early year frenzy is likely to fade away on the long term,” explains Alexandru Atanasiu, Board Member & Head of Construction Services at Colliers.
In line with Eurostat surveys, local builders’ optimism about short-term activity is at a three-year low, but far from the extreme pessimism of the initial pandemic period or of the past decades’ recessions. This suggests market players anticipate, on the basis of information they are looking at now, just a slowdown, not a market collapse.
The intense activity at the start of the year also reflected on the evolution of the labor market, which hit a new record high in April, with almost 460,000 people working in the field.
The consultants warn that, despite the promising start to the year, second-half evolutions are likely to be influenced by a serios of factors requiring a cautious approach.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)