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18th March 2024
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HomeNewsCyprus property sales up 29% in May (Update)

Cyprus property sales up 29% in May (Update)

Cyprus property sales up 29% in MayTHE NUMBER of property sales contracts deposited at Land Registry offices across the Republic of Cyprus during May 2018 rose 23 per cent compared to May 2017 according to official figures published by the Department of Lands and Surveys.

This follows increases of 29% in April, 23% in March and 46% in February.

During May a total of 828 contracts or the sale of residential and commercial properties and land (building plots and fields) were deposited at Land Registry offices across Cyprus, compared with the 758 deposited in May 2017.

Of the 828 contracts deposited, 392 (47.3%) were for properties purchased by non-Cypriots.

The figures show a continuing improvement in the economic conditions, coupled with government measures (such as the citizenship by investment scheme). However, the recent decision by the Council of Ministers to limit the number of citizenship applications to 700 a year may result in a fall in sales to non-EU citizens.

(The figures include an unspecified number of properties acquired by banks as part of loan restructurings.)

While sales in both Larnaca and Limassol fell by 5%, they rose in the remaining districts.

In percentage terms Famagusta led the way with sales rising by 108% followed by Nicosia, where sales rose by 30% and Paphos, where sales rose 10%.

Although the number of sales in Limassol declined 5% in May, it still recorded the highest number of sales during May reaching 282.

Total Property Sale Contracts – 2017/2018 Comparison

District Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Nicosia 2017 72
73
79
80 118 162 124 76 87 117 170 306
2018 146 96
126
117
153
Famagusta 2017 21
19 40
29
38 46
59 47 57 51 52 169
2018 48 52
40
52 79
Larnaca 2017 102
100 113
69
119 96
103 88 107 111 151 181
2018 112 99
116
83 113
Limassol 2017 132
177 232
192
298 304
289 201 203 306 321 532
2018 225 256
314
246 282
Paphos 2017 96
87 162
136
183 235
184 160 148 183 212 349
2018 164 163
172
157 201
Totals 2017 423
456 626
506
756 843
739 572 602 768 906 1537
2018 695 666 768 655 828

Property sales – year to date

During the first five months of 2018 the number of contracts for the sale of property deposited at Land Registry offices has risen 31% to 3,612 compared to the 2,767 deposited during corresponding period of last year.

In percentage terms Famagusta saw the highest increase in the number of sales – up by 84%, followed by Nicosia (the capital) with a 51% increase. Increases of 29%, 28% and 4% were recorded in Paphos, Limassol and Larnaca respectively.

Overseas property sales

The Land Registry figures reveal that a total of 392 property sale contracts were deposited by non-Cypriots during May 2018. Of those 126 were deposited by EU citizens and the remaining 266 by non-EU citizens, but we cannot quantify the number of non-EU citizens who bought property with a view to applying for citizenship.

Paphos remained the most popular district with the overseas market with the number of property sales contracts deposited reaching 158. Limassol recorded 94, Larnaca 58, Famagusta 45 and Nicosia 18.

Overseas Property Sale Contracts – 2018

District Source Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Nicosia EU 10 8 9 10
9
Non-EU 10 4 13
14 9
Total 20 12 22 24 18
Famagusta EU 15 24 8
12 19
Non-EU 36 10 14
28 26
Total 51 34 22 40 45
Larnaca EU 9 9 9
6 9
Non-EU 43 46 40
36 49
Total 52 55 49 42 58
Limassol EU 15 17 32
17 19
Non-EU 103 87 83
67 94
Total 118 104 115 84 113
Paphos EU 41 58 55
49 70
Non-EU 105 97 74
87 88
Total 146 155 129 136 158
Totals EU 90 116 113
94 126
Non-EU 297 244 224
232 266
TOTAL 387 360 337 326 392

During the first five months of 2018, a total of 1,802 property sales contracts have been deposited by overseas buyers, with 539 deposited by EU nationals and 1,263 by non-EU nationals.

Paphos maintains its position as the most popular spot for overseas buyers with sale contracts reaching 724, followed by Limassol with 534, Larnaca with 256, Famagusta with 192 and Nicosia with 96.

Cyprus Property Sale Contracts 2000 – 2018

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
2,406 6,328 27.5% 8,734
2018 (May)
1,802 1,810 49.9% 3,612
Totals
62,828 149,325 29.6% 212,151

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