Building permits decline, costs rise

Building permits issued in Cyprus from January to November declined by an annual 5.4%, but the total value rose 1.2%, reflecting increasing construction costs amid soaring inflation and supply chain disruptions.

According to data released by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat), total building permits issued in the first 11 months of 2022 declined to 6,986 from 7,386 in 2021.

Permits for residential buildings declined by 8% year-on-year, dropping to 4,767 compared to 5,180, whereas permits for non-residential buildings dipped 5.1% to 1,088 permits compared with 1,146 the year before.

Divisions of plots in January – November 2022 were down by an annual 3.8%.

On the other hand, civil engineer projects rose by 13.9% to 475 from 417, whereas road construction rose by 22.4% year-on-year.

Total housing units for January – November marked an annual fall of 5.1%, declining to 8,979 from 9,466, while the total value of building permits also marked a reduction of 5.1% year-on-year.

And the total value of the building permits issued reached €2.28 bln, up by 1.2% from €2.25 bln in the respective 11 months of 2021.

For November alone, the number of building permits authorised by local authorities was 639.

The total value of these permits reached €224.7 mln, and the total area was 199,360 square metres, providing for the construction of 820 housing units.

Building permits constitute a leading indicator of future activity in the construction sector.