Building permits on the rise in February

The number of building permits in Cyprus issued by municipal and district authorities rose to 706 in February, up from just below 600 each in January and December, according to the Statistical Service Cystat.

This helped increase the total number of permits issued in the first two months of the year to 1,293, up 13% from 1,143 in January-February last year.

According to Cystat, the issue of building permits constitutes a leading indicator of future activity in the construction sector.

The total value of the permits reached €248.9 mln in February and the total area 202,600 square metres.

These permits are for the construction of 919 residential buildings, of which 309 were for single or double housing units, 482 residential apartment blocks and 118 mixed-use buildings (residential and commercial blocks).

During the January-February period, the total value of permits increased by 16.9% year-on-year from €402.05 mln to €470.2 mln, and the total area by 14.3% from 350,662 sq.m. to 400,750 sq.m.

The number of dwelling units increased by 13.4% in the first two months of the year compared to January-February last year, from 1,546 to 1,703.

The data is based on residential and non-residential buildings as well as other construction activities such as civil engineering projects, division of plots and road construction, by district (both urban and rural areas).