The value of Cyprus building permits issued from January to November 2020 declined by 23% year on year to €2.5 billion, mainly affected by the impact of the pandemic on large-scale projects.
According to data released by the Statistical Service (Cystat) building permits issued in the eleven months to November were down 3% reaching 6,375 compared to 6,571 the year before.
However, the value of those permits amounted to €2.53 billion marking a reduction of 23% from the €3.29 billion generated in January – November 2019.
The total area covered by the building permits issued in January – November 2020 declined by 8.6% year on year while the number of dwellings planned for increased by a marginal 0.2%.
Large scale projects took the heaviest blow from the pandemic with building permits issued to November declining to 595 from 629 in the same period 2019 while the value of these permits plunged by 32% to €1.56 billion.
Building permits for January – November 2020 in Nicosia increased 6.1% to 2,477 from 2,334 in the previous year while permits in Famagusta also rose 11.3% annually to 318 from 282.
In Larnaca building permits declined 14.6% to 871 from 1,020 in the same period, in Limassol permits dropped 5.45% to 1,854 whereas building permits in Paphos dipped a higher 12.2% to 855 to 974.
In November alone, the number of building permits authorized by local authorities was up 17.66% to 686 from 583 in October.
The total value of these permits reached €295.6 million and the total area 228,400 square metres, providing for the construction of 831 housing units.
Source: Financial Mirror
