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

28th March 2024
Cyprus Property News logo
HomeNewsProperty sales continue to improve

Property sales continue to improve

Cyprus property sales improveTHE NUMBER of property sales in Cyprus during March 2016 increased by 19 per cent compared with March 2015 according to the latest official figures issued by the Department of Lands & Surveys.

The 19% increase in March follows a 54% increase in February and a 2% increase in January. Increases have been recorded for the last seven months and it seems that a recovery in the property market may be underway after years of decline and stagnation.

March saw a total of 539 contracts for the sale of commercial and residential properties and land (building plots and fields) being deposited at Land Registry offices across the island.

Of those 539 contracts, 71% (382) were deposited by domestic (Cypriot) purchasers, while 29% (157) were deposited by overseas (non-Cypriot) purchasers.

Although sales fell by 1% in the capital Nicosia, they rose in all the other districts. Sales in Famagusta increased by 94% compared with March 2015, while sales in both Larnaca and Limassol increased by 23%, with sales in Paphos up by 19%.

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
Famagusta 2015 16 27 17 17 21 33 45 14 30 29 33 42
2016 22
35 33
                 
Larnaca 2015 90 71 98 67 68 111 95 75 85 87 111 114
2016 78
108 121
                 
Limassol 2015 95 97 160 115 135 135 156 87 114 166 137 169
2016 92
179 197
                 
Paphos 2015 74 85 94 94 95 124 140 88 91 117 105 134
2016 81
100 106
                 
Totals
2015 321 325 452 381 405 464 496 301 385 463 446 513
2016 327
501 539
                 

During the first quarter of 2016 sales have risen 24% to reach 1,367 compared with 1,098 sales during the first quarter of 2015.

Domestic property sales

Property sales to the domestic (Cypriot) market in March fell 7% compared to March 2015, with sales reaching 382 compared with 411 in March last year.

Although sales in Famagusta and Nicosia rose 31% and 1% respectively, they declined in Paphos, Larnaca and Limassol by 31%, 7% and 1% 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
Famagusta 2015 9 2 16 16 9 30 28 14 25 24 24 41
2016 20 31 21
                 
Larnaca 2015 77 49 91 40 45 82 60 62 53 59 81 81
2016 68 96 85
                 
Limassol 2015 71 77 147 90 86 100 123 65 81 127 82 123
2016 68 158 145
                 
Paphos 2015 39 38 86 64 34 63 83 64 47 92 71 89
2016 61 72 59
                 
Totals
2015 235 202 411 284 248 333 350 241 261 352 308 378
2016 260 427 382
                 

Domestic sales during the first quarter of 2016 are up 26% compared with the first quarter of 2015 with sales reaching 1,069 compared to last year’s figure of 848.

Overseas property sales

In contrast with domestic sales, property sales to the overseas (non-Cypriot) market rose 283% in March compared with March 2014 with 157 properties being sold compared with just 41 in the same period last year.

With the exception of sales in the capital Nicosia, where sales declined 17% compared to last year, they rose in all other districts.

In percentage terms sales in Famagusta rose 1,100% (increasing from just 1 in March 2015 to 12 in March 2016). Meanwhile sales in Paphos rose 488%, sales in Larnaca rose 414% and sales in Limassol rose 300%.

It should be borne in mind that that these increases are from a very low base, but the signs are positive that a recovery in the overseas property market may be under way.

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
Famagusta 2015 7 25 1 1 12 3 17 0 5 5 9 1
2016 2 4 12
                 
Larnaca 2015 13 22 7 27 23 29 35 13 32 28 30 33
2016 10 12 36
                 
Limassol 2015 24 20 13 25 49 35 33 22 33 39 55 46
2016 24 21 52
                 
Paphos 2015 35 47 8 30 61 61 57 24 44 35 34 45
2016 20 28 47
                 
Totals
2015 86 123 41 97 157 131 146 60 124 111 138 135
2016 67 74 157
                 

Sales to the overseas property market during the quarter of 2016 are up 19% compared with the first quarter of last year with sales rising to 298 compared to last year’s figure of 250.

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 (Mar)
298 1,069 21.8% 1,367
Totals
57,103 137,006 29.4% 194,109

 

RELATED ARTICLES

1 COMMENT

  1. What is interesting to see in these charts is that during the real estate bubble domestic and overseas investment were on the same ground.

    Since then, the real estate market is kept afloat by local sales and employment figures are stalling, the government has a bunch of loans coming to term, global economy is stalling, NPL issue is not solved yet….

    Next year will be interesting to watch…

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