Building less but bigger houses

PEOPLE are building less houses but the ones being built are bigger than ever before, according to latest statistics.

For the third year in a row, growth in the construction sector fell; last year it fell by 4.1 per cent, compared to a 0.2 per cent fall in 1996 and a 0.8 per cent decline in 1995.

And provisional estimates for 1998 indicate that the building sector will continue to show a negative rate of growth.

However, the average area per residence built in 1997 was 230 square metres for houses and 128 square metres for apartments, compared to 222 and 126 square metres respectively in 1996. The average construction cost per square metre was £312 for houses and £284 for apartments in 1997, up from £284.4 and £267.3 respectively in 1996.

Employment levels in the sector also fell, with 24,940 people being employed in 1997, down from 25,341 in 1996. Construction workers make up 8.7 per cent of the work force.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.