Compared with March 2012, new building permits were down 3%, the data showed.
Residential constructions in rural areas made up for 65.8% of the new housing permits issued in March.
New permits for non-residential buildings, including administrative structures, stood at 588 units in March, up 50% from the previous month, and 6% more than in the same month of 2012.
In the first quarter of 2013, Romanian housing permits reached 6.873 units, almost similar to 6,875 in the same period a year ago.