The figures show that Paphos saw the biggest increase by value of building permits in the first five months of the 2016. The value of building permits for Paphos rose in January-May by 29.2%, compared with the year earlier, to reach €83 million.

If rural areas are excluded, then the rise for urban areas only was an astonishing 232%.

The value of building permits issued for the first five months of the year also rose in Limassol, by 7.5% to €122 million. In all other districts the value fell: by 15.4% in Nicosia, 28.7% in Larnaca and by 48% in Famagusta.

For the whole of Cyprus, the value of permits dropped by 8.4% to €401 million, while the number of issuances rose to by 6% to 1,340.

Residential or tourist?

A rise in the value or volume of building permits does not necessarily mean homes are being built, however. The number of dwelling units authorised for Paphos actually fell in January-May 2016, to 209 from 247 in the same period of 2015.

Similarly, the number of dwelling units authorised for Limassol dropped by 0.8% to 470.

A clue as to what the permits are for can be gleaned from other separate statistics on the type of building permits granted.

These are not broken down by district, but they show that the value of permits authorised for residential buildings fell by 1.1% for the whole of Cyprus in the first five months of the year to €290 million.

By contrast, the value of permits for ‘hotels and similar buildings’ rose by 47.5% to €35 million. Of this total, €29 million was for hotels and the rest for hotel apartments.

While the permits for hotels are increasing at a faster pace, at €29 million they are worth much less by value than residential buildings, which are ten times the value. They are also much smaller in number. In the first five months of the year, just seven permits were issued for hotels, compared with 1,470 for residential buildings.

Source: InCyprus