The increase in the construction area of projects which received a building permit from local authorities in the first eight months of 2015 resulted from an 22% increase in the construction area of housing projects to 455,410 meters, Cystat said in a statement on its website on Tuesday. The value of projects to which local authorities issued a building permit in January to August rose 26% to €450.2m compared to the respective period a year ago.

Building permits issued for non-housing projects fell 0.5% in terms of construction area in January to August to 124,738 square meters compared to a year before even as they rose in terms of value 10% to €160.6m, Cystat said.

The average construction area of housing units rose in January to August to 218.6 square meters from 210 square meters a year before, while the average value rose to €216,191 from €201,701 respectively, Cystat said.

Building permits are considered an important economic leading indicator.

Source: Cyprus Mail