Cyprus building permits show volatility

Building permits authorised dropped by 12.8% over the year earlier according to our analysis in April, having leapt by 34.2% in March and 17.1% in February.
Total building permits authorised by the municipal authorities and the district administration offices during April 2010 stood at 668.
The value of these permits reached EUR 211.3 mln (down 1.8% year on year) and the total area 244,383 square metres (down 4.4%).
These building permits provided for the construction of 1,176 dwellings, which was 14.8% lower than in April 2009.
Building permits are a leading indicator of future activity in the construction sector.
For the year to date, building permits are up over the year earlier, however.
In January -April 2010 the number of building permits authorised rose by 6.9% over the year earlier to 3,066.
The total value of these permits increased by 10.2%, the total area increased by 8.0% and the number of dwellings rose by 1.9%.