THE NUMBER of building permits issued in September stood at 422 compared with the 604 issued in September 2012; a fall of 30%, according to figures released earlier this week by the Cyprus Statistical Service.
Compared with September 2012, the total area of these permits fell 46% to 63,022 square metres from 116,257, while their value fell 48% to €70,430 million from €135,145 million.
During September, building permits were issued for:
- Residential buildings – 291 permits
- Non-residential buildings – 77 permits
- Civil engineering projects – 18 permits
- Division of plots of land – 31 permits
- Road construction – 5 permits
During the first eight months of 2013 a total of 3,993 building permits were authorised; a drop of 26% compared with the 5,365 permits issued during the same period last year. Their total value has fallen by 27% and their total area by 31%.
New home construction
The 291 residential building permits approved in September provided for the construction of 308 new homes comprising 132 single houses and 176 multiple housing units (such as apartments and other residential complexes).
This is a fall of 37% compared with September 2012 when building permits were issued for the construction of 491 new homes.
During the first nine months of 2013, the number of new homes for which permits were authorised has fallen by 29% compared with the same period last year.
According to the Cyprus Statistical Service, building permits constitute a leading indicator of future activity in the construction sector.
@Peter Davis – one thing we don’t know is how many of these permits have been issued retrospectively (i.e. for properties that have already been constructed). And some may also be ‘cover’ permits resulting from a change to the original permit.
All we can sensibly read into these figures without knowing any further details is that the number of permits being issued is falling.
Below my house on a hillside in Cyprus are two developments.
The first with timber framed houses, seven of the seven built in 2007 remain unsold.
The second development traditional concrete and block built in 2008, only three of the nine have been sold, six stand empty with weeds up to a man’s armpit
Why build more properties when so many lie empty? What is it with developers who think they can ignore the trend and kickstart a stalled economy by building more homes when the existing lot cannot be shifted.
Let us assume that 291 residential building permits translate into 291 sales. How many of these 291 new homes will be sold with title deeds at the point of sale? Answer NONE. Why, because the homes will have no completion certificates and the properties will probably be encumbered with debt, which the buyer’s lawyer forgets to mention.
Solve these deficiencies (malpractices) and maybe Cyprus will sell more property.
The Cyprus government seem to be surprised that more houses are not being built. If no houses were built for 10 years I doubt they will have cleared the existing stock of new houses. The Brits and Germans were ripped off, then the Russians and the Chinese fell victim. the new scam is overcharging “foreigners”, cemetery tax, sewage tax and the difference between foreigners and Cypriots. There is no surprise that people are not buying property and indeed holidays. I have just remembered it doesn’t matter the gas will make them all millionaires no problem !!