Cyprus building permits still erratic in January

The number of building permits authorised in Cyprus fell for the second consecutive month in January as the number of permits fell but the value of those permits rose.
Total permits amounted to 694, a fall of 6.2% compared with January 2008. The area of building permits authorised also fell for the first time in five months, to 278,876 square metres, a fall of 2% compared with the same period of 2008.
By contrast, the value of building permits authorised rose for the eighth straight month, rising by 6.9% over January 2008 to EUR 234.1 mln, suggesting that developers are still making money.
These building permits provided for the construction of 1,585 dwelling units compared with 1,229 in January 2008.