THE NUMBER of building permits authorised in June 2016 stood at 455 compared with the 461 authorised in June last year; a fall of 1.3 per cent according to official figures released by the Cyprus Statistical Service.
However, compared with June 2015, the total area of these permits rose 24.2% to 91.4 thousand square metres from 73.6 thousand square metres and their value rose 19.4% to €89.5 million from €74.9 million.
During June, building permits were issued for:
- Residential buildings – 315 permits
- Non-residential buildings – 87 permits
- Civil engineering projects – 15 permits
- Division of plots of land – 33 permits
- Road construction – 5 permits
Building permits for new homes
The 315 residential building permits approved in June provided for the construction of 287 new homes comprising 173 single houses and 114 multiple housing units (such as apartments, semis, townhouses and other residential complexes).
This is an increase of 20.1% compared with June 2015 when building permits were issued for the construction of 239 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% |
| Total | 1,547 | 1,627 | 80 | 5.2% |
Year to date
During the first half of 2016 the number of building permits authorised for both residential and non-residential projects has risen by 4.6% to 2,611 compared with the 2,495 authorised in the first five months of 2015.
However, the total value of these permits has fallen by 4.4% to €490.2 million and their total area has fallen by 0.6% to 455.4 thousand square metres, while the number of housing units has increased by 5.2%.
According to the Cyprus Statistical Service, building permits constitute a leading indicator of future activity in the construction sector.
May be I’m wrong, but it seems like building permit increase has got two main explanations:
– The “cultural reluctance” of Cypriot people to buy resale houses…(real estate market is today dominated by local buyers)
– The fact that despite a huge unbalance of supply over demand, the owners are holding on to unrealistic sale prices (hoping that “things will get better, for sure”), which entices the future owners to build a new house for sometimes a price lower than a resale with similar specs…