THE NUMBER of building permits authorised in May 2016 stood at 440 compared with the 434 authorised in May last year; an increase of 1.4 per cent according to official figures released by the Cyprus Statistical Service.
However, compared with May 2015, the total area of these permits fell 6.7% to 84.6 thousand square metres from 44.3 thousand square metres and their value fell 16.8% to €102.7 million from €123.4 million.
During May, building permits were issued for:
- Residential buildings – 301 permits
- Non-residential buildings – 94 permits
- Civil engineering projects – 13 permits
- Division of plots of land – 31 permits
- Road construction – 1 permits
Building permits for new homes
The 301 residential building permits approved in May provided for the construction of 278 new homes comprising 188 single houses and 90 multiple housing units (such as apartments, semis, townhouses and other residential complexes).
This is an increase of 0.7% compared with May 2015 when building permits were issued for the construction of 276 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% |
| Total | 1,032 | 1,062 | 30 | 2.4% |
Year to date
During the first five months of 2016 the number of building permits authorised for both residential and non-residential projects has risen by 6.0% to 2,156 compared with the 2,034 authorised in the first five months of 2015.
However, the total value of these permits has fallen by 8.4% to €400.7 million and their total area has fallen by 5.3% to 364.0 thousand square metres, while the number of housing units has increased by 2.4%.
According to the Cyprus Statistical Service, building permits constitute a leading indicator of future activity in the construction sector.
