Although the total value of these permits fell by 16.8% to €129.7 million compared to December 2015, their total area rose by 38.9% to 113.3 thousand square metres.
During December 2016, building permits were issued for:
- Residential buildings – 325 permits
- Non-residential buildings – 84 permits
- Civil engineering projects – 17 permits
- Division of plots of land – 20 permits
- Road construction – 8 permits
Building permits for new homes
The 325 residential building permits approved in December provided for the construction of 397 new homes comprising 213 single houses and 184 multiple housing units (such as apartments, semis, townhouses and other residential complexes); an increase of 55.7% compared with December 2015 when building permits were issued for the construction of 255 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% |
| November | 255 | 341 | 86 | 33.7% |
| December | 255 | 397 | 142 | 55.7% |
| Totals | 3,197 | 3,649 | 452 | 14.1% |
Annual statistics
During 2016 the number of building permits authorised for both residential and non-residential projects increased by 6.8% to 5,354 compared with the 5,014 authorised during the previous year.
The total area of these permits rose by 18.8% to 1,047.1 thousand square metres and their total value rose by 8.0% to €1,157.6 million. The number of housing units increased by 14.1%.
According to the Cyprus Statistical Service, building permits constitute a leading indicator of future activity in the construction sector.