MAY saw the number of Cyprus property sales to the overseas market more than treble compared to May 2016 according to official figures published earlier today by the Department of Lands and Surveys.
Of the 756 contracts for the sale of immovable property that were deposited at Land Registry offices across Cyprus in May, 496 (65.6%) were deposited by Cypriot purchasers and 260 (34.4%) were deposited by overseas purchasers.
Overseas Cyprus property sales rocket
Property sales to the overseas (non-Cypriot) market during May 2017 rocketed by a massive 348% compared to May 2016.
Sales rose in all districts. In Famagusta, where not a single property was sold in May 2016, 11 properties were sold in May 2017.
Sales in Paphos rose 533%, while sales in Limassol rose 405%. Meanwhile overseas sales in Larnaca and Nicosia rose 330% and 7% respectively.
Overseas Property Sale Contracts – 2016/2017 Comparison
District | Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nicosia | 2016 | 11 |
9 |
10 |
10 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 13 | 28 |
2017 | 9 |
4 |
6 |
18 | 15 | ||||||||
Famagusta | 2016 | 2 | 4 | 12 |
2 |
0 |
27 |
8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 15 |
2017 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 6 | 11 | ||||||||
Larnaca | 2016 | 10 | 12 | 36 |
36 |
10 |
45 |
32 | 14 | 31 | 30 | 40 | 39 |
2017 | 25 | 20 | 28 | 20 | 43 | ||||||||
Limassol | 2016 | 24 | 21 | 52 |
44 |
19 |
60 |
64 | 28 | 53 | 68 | 53 | 125 |
2017 | 35 | 47 | 56 | 40 | 96 | ||||||||
Paphos | 2016 | 20 | 28 | 47 |
42 |
15 |
57 | 79 | 48 | 29 | 43 | 72 | 147 |
2017 | 23 | 40 | 80 | 43 | 95 | ||||||||
Totals | 2016 | 67 | 74 | 157 |
134 |
58 |
195 |
191 | 105 | 129 | 161 | 188 | 354 |
2017 | 93 | 113 | 186 | 127 | 260 |
During the first five months of 2017 the number of Cyprus property sales to the overseas market has risen 59% compared to the first five months of 2016.
Domestic property sales
Sales of Cyprus property to the domestic market in May rose by 19% compared to May 2016.
Although sales in Larnaca and Paphos fell by 18% and 16% respectively, they rose by 60% in Limassol, 51% in Nicosia and 13% in Nicosia.
Domestic Property Sale Contracts – 2016/2017 Comparison
District | Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nicosia | 2016 | 43 |
70 |
10 |
69 | 68 | 92 | 94 | 58 | 75 | 70 | 73 | 116 |
2017 | 63 | 69 |
71 |
62 |
103 |
||||||||
Famagusta | 2016 | 20 | 31 | 21 |
33 |
24 | 7 | 19 | 32 | 22 | 37 | 9 | 72 |
2017 | 20 | 17 | 24 | 23 | 27 |
||||||||
Larnaca | 2016 | 68 | 96 | 85 |
91 |
93 | 75 | 91 | 67 | 90 | 81 | 74 | 114 |
2017 | 77 | 80 | 85 | 49 | 76 |
||||||||
Limassol | 2016 | 68 | 158 | 145 |
122 |
126 | 162 | 156 | 101 | 142 | 202 | 196 | 307 |
2017 | 97 | 130 | 176 | 152 | 202 |
||||||||
Paphos | 2016 | 61 | 72 | 59 |
65 |
105 | 126 | 74 | 88 | 98 | 83 | 111 | 171 |
2017 | 73 | 47 | 82 | 93 | 88 |
||||||||
Totals | 2016 | 260 | 427 | 382 |
380 |
416 |
462 |
434 | 346 | 427 | 473 | 463 | 780 |
2017 | 330 | 343 | 438 |
379 | 496 |
Property sales since 2000
Cyprus Property Sale Contracts 2000 – 2017
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 |
1,813 | 5,250 | 25.7% | 7,063 |
2017 (May) | 781 | 1,986 | 28.2% | 2,767 |
Totals |
59,399 | 143,173 | 29.3% | 202,572 |
Debt-to-asset swaps
We know that debt-to-asset swaps will be included in the numbers of domestic sales and although no official figures are available, the Greek language Phileleftheros newspaper published an article this morning, which reports:
- Of the 535 properties that were put to auction, a mere 20 have been sold.
- The Bank of Cyprus Real Estate Management Unit (REMU) took over property valued at €128 million during the first quarter of 2017 and at the 31st March 2017 had €1.4 billion worth of properties on its books.
- The banks are now looking at different solutions to meet increasing requirements of the supervisory authorities to consolidate their balance sheets.
May make the banks slightly more amenable to negotiating?
Ed: You’ll need to speak with the relevant bank.
Rocket figures last month do not maketh an entire year. If my maths are any good then it looks like we will be at slightly higher than 2012 total sales by the end of the year and still be down on last years totals…just.
But as it’s been mentioned previously there are other explanations other than a months new sales in the monthly figures!
Bottom line, fresh new sales or not at least its going in the right direction and in a market where confidence is one key to get housing and the economy motivated this is heading in the right direction.