THE NUMBER of building permits authorised in October 2016 stood at 449 compared with the 467 authorised in October 2015; a drop of 3.9 per cent according to official figures released by the Cyprus Statistical Service.
However, compared with October 2015, the total value of these permits rose 118.7% to €179.1 million, while their total area rose 70.8% to 179.1 thousand square metres.
During October 2016, building permits were issued for:
- Residential buildings – 288 permits
- Community buildings – 1 permit
- Non-residential buildings – 95 permits
- Civil engineering projects – 19 permits
- Division of plots of land – 39 permits
- Road construction – 7 permits
Building permits for new homes
The 288 residential building permits approved in October provided for the construction of 384 new homes comprising 155 single houses and 229 multiple housing units (such as apartments, semis, townhouses and other residential complexes); an increase of 32.4% compared with October 2015 when building permits were issued for the construction of 290 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% |
October | 290 | 384 | 94 | 32.4% |
Total | 2,687 | 2,911 | 224 | 8.3% |
Year to date
During the first ten months of 2016 the number of building permits authorised for both residential and non-residential projects increased by 4.6% to 4,350 compared with the 3,693 authorised during the same period of the previous year.
The total area of these permits rose by 13.4% to 833.4 thousand square metres and their total value rose by 8.1% to €914.4 million. The number of housing units increased by 8.3%.
According to the Cyprus Statistical Service, building permits constitute a leading indicator of future activity in the construction sector.