Building permits issued in the first months of 2024 show positive signs of recovery in the Cypriot construction sector.
In particular, an increase of 8.3 per cent was recorded in the urban sector between January and April.
Of the 2,545 building permits, 1,686 were for residential buildings. This represents an increase of 4.2% compared with the same period last year, when 1,618 permits were issued. It is worth noting that the projected number of residential units based on the permits issued reached 3,854, compared to 3,102 in 2023. This represents an increase of 24.2%.
There was also a 223.1% increase in the number of mixed-use residential buildings, from 65 in the same period in 2023 to 210 between January and April 2024.
The number of residential blocks with planning permission rose by 32 per cent in the first four months to 2,389 units from 1,810 units in the corresponding period last year.
The number of semi-detached houses rose by 27% year-on-year (320 compared with 252), while the number of detached houses fell slightly by 4.1% (935 compared with 975).
In terms of residential building values, there was an annual increase of 4.2% between January and April 2002, while the value of non-residential building permits rose by 17.3%. The annual increase in the area of residential building permits was 10% and 46.7% for non-residential buildings.
It should be remembered that building permits are a leading indicator of future activity in the construction sector. On this basis, it can be concluded that the volume of construction in Cyprus is rapidly declining and developers' costs are rising in the context of rising inflation and supply chain disruptions.