Construction sector in recession for second year

THE CONSTRUCTION sector continued in recession for the second year running in 2010 according to a report “Construction and Housing Statistics, 2010” recently published by CySTAT.

The main developments in the sector during 2010 were:

1. The construction sector continued for the second year in a row to exhibit signs of recession. The rate of growth of the sector in 2010 (in terms of value added at constant prices) is provisionally estimated to have recorded a decrease of 7.0% compared to a decline of 18.6% in 2009.
2. The gross output of the sector at current market prices was reduced in 2010 by 9.7% to €3,048.8 million compared to €3,376.3 million in 2009. The subsector of buildings construction and civil engineering recorded a decrease of 6.2%, while the subsector of land and buildings development registered a decline of 22.7%.
3. New residential buildings accounted for 46.4% of the total gross output of the subsector of buildings construction and civil engineering, new non-residential buildings (offices, shops, hotels, factories, airport buildings, etc.) for 20.9%, new civil engineering projects (roads and bridges, water supply and sewerage networks, telecommunications and electricity lines etc.) for 24.5% and repairs and maintenance for the remaining 8.2%.
4. Employment in the sector reduced from 36,384 persons in 2009 to 34,937 in 2010, accounting for 9.3% of the gainfully employed population.
5. The number of persons registered as unemployed increased from 2,598 persons in 2009 to 3,497 in 2010.
6. Labour cost in construction increased by 3.5% compared to an increase of 4.8% in 2009. The price index of construction materials recorded a rise of 2.7% compared to a decline of 3.5% in 2009.
7. The number of new dwellings completed decreased by 19.3% to 13,434 dwelling units compared with 16,644 in the previous year. By administrative district, the number of new dwellings is distributed as follows: Lefkosia (Nicosia) 3,921, Ammochostos (Famagusta) 1,221, Larnaka (Larnaca) 2,378, Lemesos (Limassol) 3,108 and Pafos (Paphos) 2,806.
8. The average area per dwelling completed in 2010 was 205 square metres for houses and 125 square metres for apartments, compared to 203 and 122 respectively in 2009.
9. The cost of construction per square metre (excluding the value of land) rose from €896 in 2009 to €920 in 2010 for houses and from €783 to €808 for apartments.
10. The dwelling stock at the end of the year amounted to 409 thousand dwelling units, of which 62.7% were in the urban areas.

Further reading

Construction and Housing Statistics, 2010 (Greek & English)