THE NUMBER of building permits authorised in September 2016 stood at 467 compared with the 407 authorised in September 2015; an increase of 14.7 per cent according to official figures released by the Cyprus Statistical Service.
Compared with September 2015, the total value of these permits rose 26.6% to €99.4 million, while their total area rose 25.3% to 86.9 thousand square metres.
During August, building permits were issued for:
- Residential buildings – 300 permits
- Community buildings – 1 permit
- Non-residential buildings – 88 permits
- Civil engineering projects – 19 permits
- Division of plots of land – 43 permits
- Road construction – 66 permits
Building permits for new homes
The 300 residential building permits approved in September provided for the construction of 289 new homes comprising 147 single houses and 142 multiple housing units (such as apartments, semis, townhouses and other residential complexes).
This is a fall of 8.0% compared with September 2015 when building permits were issued for the construction of 314 new homes.
Building Permits Issued for the Construction of
New Homes (Number of Dwellings)
| Month | 2015 (Dwellings) |
2016 (Dwellings) |
Increase/ Decrease |
%age Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 204 | 243 | 39 | 19.1% |
| February | 384 | 312 | -72 | 3.0% |
| March | 297 | 306 | 9 | 3.0% |
| April | 147 | 201 | 54 | 36.7% |
| May | 276 | 278 | 2 | 0.7% |
| June | 239 | 287 | 48 | 20.1% |
| July | 337 | 382 | 45 | 13.4% |
| August | 199 | 229 | 30 | 15.1% |
| September | 314 | 289 | -25 | -8.0% |
| Total | 2,397 | 2,527 | 130 | 5.4% |
Year to date
During the first nine months of 2016 the number of building permits authorised for both residential and non-residential projects has increased by 5.6% to 3,901 compared with the 3,693 authorised in the same period last year.
Although total area of these permits has risen by 6.6% to 702.2 thousand square metres, their total value has fallen by 3.8% to €735.3 million. The number of housing units has increased by 5.4%.
According to the Cyprus Statistical Service, building permits constitute a leading indicator of future activity in the construction sector.
