Cyprus' leading on-line resource for home buyers & real estate investors -

29th March 2024
Cyprus Property News logo
HomeNewsWeak recovery in overseas property sales

Weak recovery in overseas property sales

ACCORDING to figures released by the Department of Lands and Surveys, 127 contracts of sale in favour of overseas buyers were deposited at Land Registries throughout Cyprus during August compared to the 167 deposited during July 2010 and 93 in August 2009.

Foreign demand for property over the first eight months of the year has been ‘disappointing’ with 1,222 properties being sold compared to the 1,190 sold during the first eight months of last year. This increase of 2.7% is very small considering last year’s exceptionally low sales figures. Some pundits hoped for a recovery in sales during the summer months, but these have been dashed.

The largest increase in sales to non-Cypriot buyers has been in Nicosia, where sales have risen by almost 55%. But Nicosia has been an exception with the once popular seaside towns showing smaller increases and falls in property sales.

Sales of property in Cyprus to overseas buyers
Source: Department of Lands and Surveys

Chairman of the Estate Agents Association of Cyprus, Solomon Kourouklides, said “The negative economic condition in the United Kingdom, Cyprus’ main market, does not allow the purchase of properties by the British, while the drop in the property prices in the UK contributes negatively too”.

According to Mr Kourouklides, the figures stress the need to find new markets for Cyprus apart from the UK and Russia, such as China, the Arabic countries and Iran.

British buyers

Once a destination of choice for British overseas home buyers, Cyprus has fallen from grace as overseas property investors have virtually deserted the island in search of safer places to invest their money.

Mr Kourouklides blames the fall in British buyers on the economic situation in the UK and the fall in UK property prices. But he fails to mention the Title Deed fiasco, developers abusing the island’s antiquated property laws, the ludicrously high mortgage interest rates in Cyprus, and the Island’s tarnished reputation amongst the overseas property buying community.

Furthermore, the case of Ken and Mary Hudson reported a few days ago casts serious doubts on Interior Minister Neoclis Sylikiotis’ statement on Title Deeds last year in which he reported that “the property market in Cyprus is stable and secure”.

Is it any wonder that the Brits are looking elsewhere?

RELATED ARTICLES

7 COMMENTS

  1. @mickey – The numbers of properties transferred, which roughly equates to the number of Title Deeds issued, are published every month by the Cyprus Department of Lands and Surveys and are available on their website.

  2. “Overall, the proposed amendments will contribute to the speeding up of the issuing of title deeds, whilst our goal is the issuing of some 20.000 title deeds by mid 2010.”

    This is a quote from Cyprus Minister of the Interior Mr Neoclis Sylikiotis in an article for Cyprus Property News dated 22 July 2009; if not already done elsewhere, could the Ministry of the Interior confirm how many title deeds were actually issued in that period?

  3. We are thinking of trying to sell our 2year old apt and take a loss all the talk of corruption and the title deeds fiasco is making us feel very insecure perhaps it may not be a country we want to retire to after all.

  4. I agree with Tom’s comment. Cyprus seems to be oblivous to the tarnished reputation that they have across EU because of the Title Deeds fiasco andis it any wonder the bottom is falling out of the Property Market?

    Is no one listening in Govt, or will that occur only when it is too late?

  5. There’s a large resale market in Cyprus, many of the properties already with Title Deeds so no risk there. And if that risk is eliminated, Cyprus is still one of the best places to live in.

  6. I believe that the increased sales of property to foreigners in Limassol is mainly due to the construction of the new marina. Marketing and off plan sales have started there, at very high prices (+/- 10.000 Euro/sqm) and the buyers are almost exclusively Russian, I heard.

  7. And they will continue to look elsewhere, Cyprus is finished for UK buyers UNLESS radical action is taken to remove the corruption and greed.

Comments are closed.

Top Stories

Sign up to receive our free newsletter

We handle your data responsibly, find more about our privacy policy

Cyprus property transfer fees

Elsewhere in Cyprus Property News

EUR - Euro Member Countries
GBP
1.1684
RUB
0.0101
CNY
0.1285
CHF
1.0436

Property capital gains tax (CGT) calculator