New home building permits

New home building permits up 93 per cent

The number of new homes in Cyprus for which building permits have been issued rose by 93.0 per cent in November 2017 compared to November 2016 according to the Cyprus Statistical Service.

THE NUMBER of building permits authorized in Cyprus during November 2017 stood at 474 compared with the 550 authorized during the same month in 2016; a fall of 13.8% according to official figures released by the Cyprus Statistical Service. However, the total value of these permits rose by 172.0% to reach €308.7 million compared to November 2016, while their total area rose by 124.9% to reach 225.7 thousand square meters.
During November 2017, building permits were issued for: Residential buildings – 329 permits Community residencies – 2 permits Non-residential buildings – 91 permits Civil engineering projects – 12 permits Division of plots of land – 33 permits Road construction – 7 permits During the first eleven months of 2017, 5,291 permits were issued compared to 4,900 in the first eleven months of 2016; an increase of 8.0%. The total value of these permits has increased by 52.6% and the total area by 45.1%. Building permits for new homes The 329 residential building permits approved in November 2017 provided for the construction of 658 new homes (dwellings). These comprised 184 single houses (compared with 258 in November 2016) and 474 multiple housing units such as apartments, semis, townhouses and other residential complexes (compared with 83 in November 2016); an overall increase of 93.0% compared with November 2016 when permits were issued for the construction of 341 new homes.

Building Permits Issued for the Construction of New Homes (Number of Dwellings)

Month	2016 (Dwelling Units)	2017 (Dwelling Units)	Movement	% Change
January	243	381	138	56.80%
February	312	383	71	22.80%
March	306	412	106	34.60%
April	201	289	88	43.80%
May	278	424	146	52.50%
June	287	381	94	32.80%
July	382	537	155	40.60%
August	229	244	15	6.60%
September	289	362	73	25.30%
October	384	543	159	41.40%
November	341	658	317	93.00%
Totals	3,252	4,614	1,362	41.90%

BUILDING PERMITS
Comparison of the most recent period of 2017 with the corresponding period of 2016
DISTRICT	NOVEMBER 2017			JANUARY – NOVEMBER 2017			JANUARY – NOVEMBER 2016
	Number	Area (m2)	Units	Number	Area (m2)	Units	Number	Area (m2)	Units
LEFKOSIA	188	66,433	121	1,892	405,660	1,270	1,912	271,188	860
Urban	109	45,654	76	1,132	265,032	912	1,113	173,724	530
Rural	79	20,779	45	760	140,628	358	799	97,464	330
AMMOCHOSTOS	16	16,251	3	231	89,797	266	250	53,227	199
Rural	16	16,251	3	231	89,797	266	250	53,227	199
LARNAKA	62	12,767	63	814	180,272	601	715	152,266	566
Urban	32	9,515	54	429	110,262	393	338	91,712	368
Rural	30	3,252	9	385	70,010	208	377	60,554	198
LEMESOS	161	113,005	383	1,601	505,185	1,766	1,317	316,642	1,170
Urban	87	96,145	326	845	304,569	1,210	687	216,286	765
Rural	74	16,860	57	756	200,616	556	630	100,356	405
PAFOS	47	17,246	88	753	173,872	711	706	140,448	457
Urban	26	14,808	73	346	85,902	421	336	91,187	285
Rural	21	2,438	15	407	87,970	290	370	49,261	172
TOTAL	474	225,702	658	5,291	1,354,786	4,614	4,900	933,771	3,252
Urban	254	166,122	529	2,752	765,765	2,936	2,474	572,909	1,948
Rural	220	59,580	129	2,539	589,021	1,678	2,426	360,862	1,304

 

During the first eleven months of 2017, the number of new homes for which permits have been issued rose by 41.9% to reach 4,614. Of those 4,614 new homes, 1,766 are being built in Limassol, 1,270 in Nicosia, 711 in Paphos, 601 in Larnaca and 266 in Famagusta. According to the Cyprus Statistical Service, building permits constitute a leading indicator of future activity in the construction sector.