The total area of licensed buildings in Jordan fell to 3.78 million square meters during the first half of 2024, a 16.4% decline compared to 4.52 million square meters in the same period last year. A report issued Tuesday by the Department of Statistics highlighted a decrease in building permits as well. The Kingdom saw 10,197 permits issued in the first half of 2024, down 12.4% from the 11,645 permits issued during the same period in 2023. For residential purposes, licensed building areas dropped 19.7%, from 3.81 million square meters in the first half of 2023 to 3.06 million square meters in 2024. Conversely, non-residential building areas saw a slight increase of 2.8%, rising to 722,000 square meters compared to 702,000 square meters last year. The report further detailed that residential buildings constituted 80.9% of the total licensed building areas, while non-residential purposes accounted for 19.1%. Regionally, the central part of the Kingdom dominated with 68.5% of the total licensed building ar eas, though this was a slight decline of 2.2%. The northern region contributed 23%, showing a 6.1% decrease, while the southern region remained stable at 8.5%. Source: Jordan News Agency