Cyprus building permits drop 13% in the new year

After falling by 14.5% in 2011 and 1.9% in 2010, building permits continued the downward trend in the new year, with the number falling by 13% to 555.
The number of dwelling units authorised collapsed by 40.5% to 468.
The value of building permits sank by 20.5% to EUR 125.4 mln and the area fell by 24% to 127,078 square metres.
Building permits are a leading indicator of activity in the construction sector. The big decline suggests that construction will have yet another difficult year.