On Monday 14th April the Cyprus Statistical Service published a new report on the number of building permits issued in the island state.
According to the authority, the number of permits decreased significantly to 385 (-34.4%) in December 2024, compared to 587 in the same month of 2023. The total value of these licences was €181.4 million and the total surface area reached 144.9 thousand m2. A total of 745 residential units will be built under these permits.
Experts have noted that this trend is directly related to the transfer of powers to the new regional local government organisations (EOA). In addition, problems with the new integrated information system, Hippodamus, also played a significant role in the significant decrease in the volume of building permits issued in December. As a result, the processing of applications was significantly delayed.
In turn, 6,827 permits were issued in Cyprus between January and December 2024, compared to 7,170 for the whole of 2023, a decrease of 4.8%.
The total area of these permits increased by 1.2% to 2.321 million m2. The total value of the authorisations remained almost unchanged between January and December, increasing slightly by only €1 million to €2,907.3 million.
It is worth noting that despite the overall decrease in the number of permits, the number of residential units planned for construction increased by 2.0% to 11,329, compared to 11,041 in 2023.
The number of residential building permits issued in January-December 2024 decreased by 4.4% to 4,706 units. The total area of these projects reached 1,903 million m2, a decrease of 2.6% compared to 2023. The total value also fell, by 4.7% to EUR 2.24 billion.
At the same time, the non-residential sector showed a positive trend. The number of authorisations increased by 1.0%. The total area increased by 23.9% to 410 thousand m2. The value of projects increased by 16.5% to reach 450.2 million euros.
The civil engineering sector also showed mixed dynamics. The number of authorisations fell by 3.2% (390 authorisations). The total area decreased by 8.6% (8,201 m2). However, the value of projects rose sharply by 57.9% to EUR 168 million.
There was a significant decline in the land division segment. The number of approvals fell by 13.3% (496 approvals). The total value was EUR 39.6 million (-19.1%). Road building also declined. The number of authorisations fell by 24% (169 authorisations). The total value was €12.6 million, 27.2% less than the previous year.
Finally, an analysis of the type of dwelling shows a shift towards multi-family houses:
- Multi-family houses became the largest category with 7,117 units, 3.1% more than in 2023.
- Single-family dwellings fell by 2.9% to 2,820 units.
- Duplexes fell by 7.7% to 800 units.
- Of particular note was the growth in the mixed-use multifamily segment, up 61.3% from 367 to 592 units.