The generation of new housing has seen a significant increase in Gipuzkoa, recording the best figure in the last three years. Local councils have issued permits for the construction of 556 new homes and the rehabilitation of 150 during the first quarter of the year. While these numbers are far from those of the early 2000s property boom, they break a downward trend and signal a recovery in construction.
The Law on Urgent Measures in Housing Matters, approved by the Basque Government late last year, has boosted construction by streamlining administrative procedures and accelerating deadlines. For instance, the 706 licenses granted between January and March nearly double the 390 from the previous quarter and more than quadruple the 156 from the first quarter of last year.
According to data published by the Department of Housing and Urban Agenda, the 556 new-build homes also double the 277 from the end of 2025 and multiply by nine the 63 from a year ago. Denis Itxaso, the Basque Government's Housing Minister, highlighted these figures at an event in San Sebastián, stating that "Gipuzkoa is leading residential acceleration in Euskadi".
Over the last twelve months, licenses for 1,970 new homes have been granted in Gipuzkoa (1,461 new construction and 509 rehabilitation), a 64% increase compared to the previous twelve months. In Álava, permits for 1,668 homes have been approved (an 18.5% increase), and in Bizkaia, for 2,601 (a 1.6% increase).
The minister emphasized that the main challenge is to "shorten the timelines so that all this planned housing reaches citizens as soon as possible". "We are talking about licenses and planned housing, not yet finished or delivered homes," he recalled. Therefore, digitalization, administrative modernization, and BIM methodology are "key tools" for reducing times and increasing efficiency throughout the housing value chain.
Itxaso's remarks were made at the Chamber of Gipuzkoa during the presentation of the BIM Euskadi Plan. BIM (Building Information Modeling) is a set of processes and methods for generating and managing project data using a shared digital model among participants. Its goal is to reduce time and resources in design, construction, and management through collaboration and information exchange.
The BIM Euskadi Plan, promoted by the Housing Department and the Euskadi Construction Cluster (Build), establishes the "roadmap for the progressive incorporation of the BIM methodology into public procurement in Euskadi," explained the minister. "The housing problem is not solely dependent on land or financing. It depends on the entire chain of planning, urban management, projects, licenses, construction, rehabilitation, and public management. If one part of this chain advances while another continues to operate with procedures designed for an analog reality, delays occur," warned Itxaso.
