PROPERTY 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 |
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.
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 ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ΑÃÂÇεία ÃŽâ€ÃŽÂµÃŽÂ´ÃŽÂ¿ÃŽÂ¼ÃŽÂνÉν page of their website.
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.
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?