Building permits drop 7.3% in December

The number of building permits authorised by municipal authorities and district administration offices dropped for a ninth straight month in December, falling by 7.3% over the year earlier to 733.
The total value of these permits fell in the same period by 16.2% to EUR 191.8 mln while the the total area fell by 17.7% to 216,826 square metres.
The number of dwelling units authorised fell by 43.6% to 916 dwelling units.
For the whole of 2010 building permits authorized fell by 2% according to published figures (or 1.9% according toe the Statistical Service press release) to 8,777.
The total value of these permits decreased by 6.3% to EUR 2.6 bln and the total area decreased by 7.0% to 2,918,000 square metres.
Τhe number of dwelling units authorised dropped by 14.2% to 14,312.

Larnaca performed best in 2010
There was a marked difference in performance by region in 2010, with the number of permits for Larnaca up by 3.3%, thanks perhaps to the new marina being built, and the number of permits for the commercial shipping port of Limassol, which is also undergoing a marina revamp, up by 1.7%.
Permits for Paphos, the more expensive beach resort, were up by 1.3%.
By contrast permits for the capital, Nicosia, tumbled by 7.1% and permits for Ammochostos (Famagusta) in the east fell by 11.4%.
Building permits constitute a leading indicator of future activity in the construction sector.

Fiona Mullen
www.sapientaeconomics.com