New home building in cyprus falls 40pc

Just 428 building permits were issued in March 2013 compared to 808 issued in March last year - an annual drop of 47 per cent, according to the Cyprus Statistical Service.

The total area of the permits also decreased from 148,715 square metres to 87,251 square metres, reports Cyprus Property News. The value of the building permits fell further, from €148.265 million to €82.428 million - a year-on-year drop of 44 per cent.

The March figures confirm a negative overall first quarter of 2013 for Cypriot construction, with a total of 1,397 building permits authorised over the three months; 30 per cent lower than the first quarter of 2012, when 1,996 were issued. The value and area of the permits has fallen by 5 per cent and 13 per cent respectively.

Broken down into property types, March’s building permits were mostly for single houses, with 234 property permits approved compared to 72 for multiple housing units. The figures mark a fall of 40 per cent year-on-year for the construction of new homes - a sign that the economic slump is far from over on the island.

The financial malaise surrounding Cyprus has begun to attract buyers back to the property market, though, according to some agents. Listen to TheMoveChannel.com’s May podcast to found out more.