The Icelandic economy continued to grow robustly during the first quarter of 2018. According to the latest quarterly national accounts from Statistics Iceland (pdf) real GDP, (non-seasonally adjusted) grew by 5.4% during the first three months of the year.
The major drivers of economic growth were consumer consumption and investment, especially in residential housing. Total domestic expenditure increased by 6.8%. Household final consumption increased by 5.9%, government final consumption by 2.9% and gross fixed capital formation by 11.6%. At the same time exports grew by 11.1% and imports by 14.9%.
Investment in residential housing saw a dramatic increase: a 38% increase compared to the first quarter of 2017. Reykjavík is currently experiencing a severe housing shortage which has caused dramatic increases in rental and housing prices, pricing many low-income and first time homebuyers out of the market.
The Icelandic economy continued to grow robustly during the first quarter of 2018. According to the latest quarterly national accounts from Statistics Iceland (pdf) real GDP, (non-seasonally adjusted) grew by 5.4% during the first three months of the year.
The major drivers of economic growth were consumer consumption and investment, especially in residential housing. Total domestic expenditure increased by 6.8%. Household final consumption increased by 5.9%, government final consumption by 2.9% and gross fixed capital formation by 11.6%. At the same time exports grew by 11.1% and imports by 14.9%.
Investment in residential housing saw a dramatic increase: a 38% increase compared to the first quarter of 2017. Reykjavík is currently experiencing a severe housing shortage which has caused dramatic increases in rental and housing prices, pricing many low-income and first time homebuyers out of the market.
