Housing starts in Alicante province (Costa Blanca) have fallen to the lowest level ever recorded, reports the Spanish press. The number of residential construction licences issued in Alicante has fallen from 4,165 in 2007, to just 720 so far this year, the lowest figure since records began in the mid-1990s.

Until now, the record low for construction permits in Alicante province was 1996, when just under 2,000 licences were granted, almost triple the amount this year. The record high was 2003, when close to 4,500 construction licences were issued. Property on the Costa Blanca was one of the hottest segments of Spain’s wild real estate boom of the last decade.

In the last 12 years there have only been 3 years when the number of construction licences issued was less than 3,000. These figures help to illustrate quite how severe Spain’s construction downturn is turning out to be.