According to the Cyprus Statistical Service (CYSTAT), the number of building permits issued by the Municipal and District authorities in Cyprus in February 2021 decreased by 5%.
They issued 656 permits during the whole month.
According to official figures published on Wednesday, May 12, the total cost of permits issued in February rose to €170.1 million, the total area was 155.9 thousand m2. Under these permits, it is planned to build 663 housing units.
1,150 building permits were issued during the first two month of the year, compared to 1,129 in January-February of 2020, thus there was an increase of 1.9%. The total cost of these permits decreased by 4.6% and the total area by 5.1%. The number of housing units also decreased slightly, by 0.8%.
This is primarily due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the construction sector.
It is worth noting that building permits are a leading indicator of future activity in the construction sector. Based on them, it is possible to draw completely disappointing conclusions for the Cyprus residential real estate market.
The coronavirus pandemic and the cancellation of the passport program have had a huge impact on developers. Apparently, in the near future, construction companies in Cyprus will not increase the volume of construction. Until they have confidence that everything built will be in demand.
In addition, do not forget that the government of Cyprus recently announced that it intends to intensively develop the commercial real estate sector. Perhaps many will now rely on this direction in construction.