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29th March 2024
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Strong growth in Cyprus property sales

Strong growth in Cyprus property salesPROPERTY sales in Cyprus increased by 50 per cent in August compared August last year according to the latest official figures published by the Department of Lands and Surveys.

During August a total of 451 contracts for the sale of commercial and residential properties and land (building plots and fields) were deposited at Land Registry offices across the island; up 50% from the 496 sold during August last year.

Of those 451 contracts, 69% (346) were deposited by domestic (Cypriot) purchasers, while 31% (105) were deposited by overseas (non-Cypriot) purchasers.

The 50% increase in August follows a 26% increase in July, 42% increase in June and a 17% increase in May.

The number of contracts includes ‘non-sale’ agreements such as loan restructurings, recoveries and debt-to-asset swaps agreed between the banks and defaulting borrowers. As these ‘non-sale’ agreements are not recorded separately, there is no clear picture of the actual demand for property in the domestic market.

Sales rose in all districts with Famagusta leading the way with sales up 193% compared to August 2015. Sales in Nicosia rose 73%, while sales in Paphos, Limassol and Larnaca rose by 55%, 48% and 8% respectively.

Total Property Sale Transactions – 2015/2016 Comparison

District Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Nicosia 2015 46 45 83 88 86 61 60 37 65 64 60 54
2016 54
79
82
79 82 98 102 64
Famagusta 2015 16 27 17 17 21 33 45 14 30 29 33 42
2016 22
35 33
35
24 34
27 41
Larnaca 2015 90 71 98 67 68 111 95 75 85 87 111 114
2016 78
108 121
127
103 120
123 81
Limassol 2015 95 97 160 115 135 135 156 87 114 166 137 169
2016 92
179 197
166
145 222
220 129
Paphos 2015 74 85 94 94 95 124 140 88 91 117 105 134
2016 81
100 106
107
120 183
153 136
Totals
2015 321 325 452 381 405 464 496 301 385 463 446 513
2016 327
501 539
514
474 657
625 451

Year to date performance

During the first eight months of 2016 property sales have risen 30% to reach 4,088 compared with 3,135 during the corresponding period last year.

Property sales have risen in all districts. In Limassol sales have risen 38% and they have risen by 32% in Famagusta. Meanwhile, sales in Larnaca, Nicosia and Paphos have risen 28%, 26% and 24% respectively.

Domestic property sales

Property sales to the domestic (Cypriot) market in August rose 44% compared to August 2015, with sales reaching 346 compared with 241 in the same month last year.

(Note that domestic sales include ‘non-sale’ agreements and the figures presented do not truly reflect the number of ‘real’ sales.)

Sales rose in all districts with Famagusta leading the way with sales up 129% compared to August 2015. Sales in Nicosia rose 61%, while sales in Limassol, Paphos and Larnaca rose by 55%, 38% and 8% respectively.

Domestic Property Sale Transactions – 2015/2016 Comparison

District Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Nicosia 2015 39 36 71 74 74 58 56 36 55 60 50 44
2016 43
70
10
69 68 92 94 58
Famagusta 2015 9 2 16 16 9 30 28 14 25 24 24 41
2016 20 31 21
33
24 7 19 32
Larnaca 2015 77 49 91 40 45 82 60 62 53 59 81 81
2016 68 96 85
91
93 75 91 67
Limassol 2015 71 77 147 90 86 100 123 65 81 127 82 123
2016 68 158 145
122
126 162 156 101
Paphos 2015 39 38 86 64 34 63 83 64 47 92 71 89
2016 61 72 59
65
105 126 74 88
Totals
2015 235 202 411 284 248 333 350 241 261 352 308 378
2016 260 427 382
380
416
462
434 346

Year to date performance

Domestic sales during the first seven months of 2016 are up 35% compared with the first seven months of 2015 with sales reaching 3,107 compared with 2,304 during the corresponding period last year.

Sales have risen in all districts. Sales in Famagusta have risen 51% and by 38% in Paphos, while sales in Limassol, Larnaca and Nicosia have risen by  37%, 32% and 27% respectively.

Overseas property sales

Property sales to the overseas (non-Cypriot) market rose 75% in August compared with August 2015 with 105 properties being sold compared with 60 in the same month last year.

Sales rose in all districts. In percentage terms, Nicosia led the way with sales to the overseas market up 500% compared to August 2015, while sales in Paphos, Limassol, and Larnaca rose by 100%, 27% and 8%% respectively. (Nine properties were sold in Famagusta following August 2015’s dismal total of zero).

Overseas Property Sale Transactions – 2015/2016 Comparison

District Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Nicosia 2015 7 9 12 14 12 3 4 1 10 4 10 10
2016 11
9
10
10 14 6 8 6
Famagusta 2015 7 25 1 1 12 3 17 0 5 5 9 1
2016 2 4 12
2
0
27
8 9
Larnaca 2015 13 22 7 27 23 29 35 13 32 28 30 33
2016 10 12 36
36
10
45
32 14
Limassol 2015 24 20 13 25 49 35 33 22 33 39 55 46
2016 24 21 52
44
19
60
64 28
Paphos 2015 35 47 8 30 61 61 57 24 44 35 34 45
2016 20 28 47
42
15
57 79 48
Totals
2015 86 123 41 97 157 131 146 60 124 111 138 135
2016 67 74 157
134
58
195
191 105

Year to date performance

Overseas sales during the first seven months of 2016 are up 17% compared with the first seven months of 2015 with sales reaching 981 compared with 841 during the corresponding period last year.

With the exception of Famagusta, where sales have fallen by 3%, they have risen in all the other districts.

Sales in Limassol have risen 41%, while sales in Nicosia, Larnaca and Paphos are up 19%, 15% and 4% respectively.

Cyprus Property Sale Transactions 2000 – 2016

Year Overseas Sales Domestic Sales Percentage
Overseas Sales
Total
Sales
2000 450 12,214 3.6% 12,664
2001 1,207 12,849 8.6% 14,056
2002 2,548 14,111 15.3% 16,659
2003 3,981 15,294 20.7% 19,275
2004 5,384 11,947 31.1% 17,331
2005 6,485 10,106 39.1% 16,591
2006 8,355 8,598 49.3% 16,953
2007 11,281 9,964 53.1% 21,245
2008 6,636 8,031 45.2% 14,667
2009 1,761 6,409 21.6% 8,170
2010 2,030 6,568 23.6% 8,598
2011 1,652 5,366 23.5% 7,018
2012 1,476 4,793 23.5% 6,269
2013 1,017 2,750 27.0% 3,767
2014 1,193 3,334 26.4% 4,527
2015 1,349 3,603 27.2% 4,952
2016 (Aug)
981 3,107 24.0% 4,088
Totals
57,786 139,044 29.4% 196,830

 

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4 COMMENTS

  1. Thanks. I do appreciate it is tricky to get behind the official data (and something of a step forward you can actually get data). What may help is the following:

    i) Get an idea as to who the property investor forums are being aimed at. Currently (I think) it’s Thailand. But it’s been China, and Qatar, and Iraq and … ?

    ii) Try to see if anyone knows what the loan restructuring process looks like (what amounts are being offered as discounts. Banks will no doubt keep this information very much in house – but the borrowers will know (if they are prepared to say)

    iii) Court cases, bankruptcy ‘fire sales’. Weren’t Group 4 involved in one?

    That sort of thing. If people ask “has the problem bottomed out”? I find it hard to give a definitive answer. I suspect I am not alone. It’s a door we all need to keep shoving on.

  2. Thank you – I saw that. However, if we are trying to get a clearer picture as to the sustainability of any possible recovery we need to try and dig behind the stats a bit if anyone has any further data from any of their activity on the ground out there.

    I hence thought asking the question was still valid, but should have acknowledged the comment made.

    I thought this was an interactive forum – but if we are in school – I’ll go sit on the naughty step…

    Ed: Unfortunately the Department of Lands and Surveys does not provide their statistics in sufficient detail to show the nationalities of those buying property. It merely provides stats showing Cypriots & non-Cypriots on the ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Αρχεία Δεδομένων page of their website.

  3. Quote from above “The number of contracts includes ‘non-sale’ agreements such as loan restructurings, recoveries and debt-to-asset swaps agreed between the banks and defaulting borrowers. As these ‘non-sale’ agreements are not recorded separately, there is no clear picture of the actual demand for property in the domestic market.”

    Says it all really.

  4. Be good to know if this is sustainable and what underlying factors might be driving the upswing?

    E.g: who is buying them? Distressed asset hawkers or people attempting to get their money out of another country?

Comments are closed.

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