Building permits in Cyprus fell sharply by 58.4 per cent in June 2025, according to the Statistical Service (Cystat), reflecting a sharp slowdown in construction activity following administrative changes to the licensing system.

The number of building permits authorised in June stood at 635, compared to 1,528 in June 2024.

In total, the value of these permits reached €275 million, while the total area covered amounted to 236,700 square metres.

These permits provide for the construction of 1,132 dwelling units.

Over the first half of the year, from January to June 2025, a total of 3,399 building permits were issued, compared with 4,782 during the same period of 2024, marking a 28.9 per cent decline overall. 

During this period, the total value of these permits dropped by 15.2 per cent, while the total area decreased by 12.4 per cent.

Meanwhile, the number of dwelling units fell by 13.1 per cent. 

Residential buildings continued to dominate the sector, accounting for 2,543 permits, down from 3,171 a year earlier, a 19.8 per cent decline.

By contrast, non-residential projects recorded a sharper fall of 56.4 per cent, while civil engineering projects dropped 31.9 per cent.

At the same time, permits for road construction fell steeply by 70.4 per cent, and those for plot divisions decreased by 23.9 per cent.

Within residential developments, single houses totalled 1,689 in the first half of 2025, almost unchanged from a year earlier.

However, buildings with two housing units declined by 7.4 per cent, while apartment blocks fell by 12.5 per cent.

Mixed-use residential and commercial apartment buildings showed the sharpest contraction, down 68.5 per cent, bringing the overall total to 6,616 dwelling units compared with 7,616 in the first half of 2024.

In terms of area, residential projects covered 1.15m square metres in the first half of 2025, compared to 1.26m a year earlier.

Meanwhile, non-residential projects saw a decline of 24.3 per cent, while civil engineering projects were down 3.3 per cent.

Overall, the total value of building permits during this period stood at €1.73 billion, compared with €2.04bn in the first half of 2024.

Residential projects accounted for €1.33bn, showing a 10.9 per cent fall, while the value of non-residential permits decreased by 20.4 per cent.

In addition, civil engineering projects fell by 40.9 per cent, and road construction value plummeted by 71.8 per cent.

Cystat noted that as of July 1, 2024, the authority to issue building permits was transferred from municipalities and district administration offices to the newly established Local District Organisations (EOA), with the licensing process now conducted through the integrated information system Ippodamos.

However, the transition has been accompanied by technical and procedural delays, affecting the timely production of statistics.