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29th March 2024
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HomeNewsRise in overseas property sales continues

Rise in overseas property sales continues

Rise in overseas property sales continuesAUGUST saw the number of overseas property sales in Cyprus rise by 65 per cent compared to August 2016 according to official figures published by the Department of Lands and Surveys.

Of the 572 contracts for the sale of immovable property that were deposited at Land Registry offices across Cyprus in August, 399 (69.8%) were deposited by Cypriot purchasers and 173 (30.2%) were deposited by overseas property purchasers.

Overseas property sales

With the exception of Nicosia, where sales were almost the same as August 2016, sales rose in all districts. In percentage terms, Famagusta lead the way with sales increasing by 144%, while in Larnaca, Paphos and Limassol rose by 79%, 65% and 46% 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 12 15 6
Famagusta 2016 2 4 12
2
0
27
8 9 10 10 10 15
2017 1 2 16 6 11 15 29 22
Larnaca 2016 10 12 36
36
10
45
32 14 31 30 40 39
2017 25 20 28 20 43 26 41 25
Limassol 2016 24 21 52
44
19
60
64 28 53 68 53 125
2017 35 47 56 40 96 77 75 41
Paphos 2016 20 28 47
42
15
57 79 48 29 43 72 147
2017 23 40 80 43 95 78 91 79
Totals 2016 67 74 157
134
58
195
191 105 129 161 188 354
2017 93 113 186 127 260 208 251 173

During the first eight months of 2017, property sales to the overseas market have risen 44% compared with the same period last year to reach a total of 1,413.

(During August Title Deeds for 75 properties were transferred to overseas buyers bringing the total number of transfers for the year to date to 618.)

Domestic property sales

Sales of Cyprus property to the domestic market in August rose by 15% compared to August 2016.

Although sales in Famagusta, Paphos and Larnaca fell by 22%, 8% and 6% respectively, these falls were outweighed by increased sales in Limassol (58%) and Nicosia (21%).

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
150
109
70
Famagusta 2016 20 31 21
33
24 7 19 32 22 37 9 72
2017 20 17 24 23 27
31 30
25
Larnaca 2016 68 96 85
91
93 75 91 67 90 81 74 114
2017 77 80 85 49 76
70 62
63
Limassol 2016 68 158 145
122
126 162 156 101 142 202 196 307
2017 97 130 176 152 202
227 194
160
Paphos 2016 61 72 59
65
105 126 74 88 98 83 111 171
2017 73 47 82 93 88
157 93
81
Totals 2016 260 427 382
380
416
462
434 346 427 473 463 780
2017 330 343 438
379 496
636 488
399

During the first eight months of 2017 property sales to the domestic market have risen 13% compared with the same period last year to reach a total of 3,508. However an unknown number of these relate to properties acquired by the banks as part of loan restructurings, recoveries and debt-to-asset swaps agreed between the banks and defaulting borrowers.

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 (Aug) 1,413 3,508 28.7% 4,921
Totals
60,031 144,695 29.3% 204,726

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2 COMMENTS

  1. I wholeheartedly agree and endorse the comments of “Costas a fortune” September 10, 2017.

    I believe a similar comment was made just after the EU ‘Bail-Out” when it was said “Anybody contemplating buying property in Cyprus must either be Mad or have more money than Sense.”

    Now, a well known Cypriot developer is asking that his clients who have not yet received their Title Deeds (I am still waiting after 10+years) should pay him upfront all outstanding IPT, Sewerage Charges etc which will then enable him to meet his unpaid Penalties tax bill incurred because he encroached and built on Public Land when initially constructing a development.

    It is notable that both he and his son are still driving around in their 30,000+ euro motor vehicles, that the son is still living in his, worth probably 1,000,000+ euro ‘Casa’ and their associated ‘businesses’ are still operating and in existence.

    I think this is known as ‘Taking the Biscuit’ in the UK.

    Ed: If you haven’t done so already you should apply for your Title Deeds – see Applying for Title Deeds. This should avoid you having to pay your ‘well-known developer’ as when the deeds are issued you will be asked to pay IPT, Sewerage, etc. directly to the relevant public authority. These payments will be calculated at the rate applicable to yourself and not at the higher rate applicable to a developer.

  2. Anybody buying on this island must be out of their minds. No title deeds, corruption is rife, dodgy legal system, banks getting fined for mispractice, the list is endless. There’s thousands of wronged investors would sell on St George Hills paphos if anybody wanted a overpriced property. Save yourself a lifetime of misery and put your hard earned money to better use elsewhere.

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