THE NUMBER of property sales in Cyprus during April 2016 increased by 35 per cent compared with April 2015 according to the official figures issued by the Department of Lands & Surveys earlier today.
The 35% increase in April follows a 19% increase in March and a 54% increase in February. Increased numbers of sales have been recorded for the last eight months and a recovery in the property market appears to be underway.
The increase in sales follows moves by the government to reduce Property Transfer Fees, and exemption from Capital Gains Tax when properties purchased by 31st December 2016 are subsequently sold. Recent announcements regarding the island’s long-awaited marinas should also help to encourage property sales in their respective locations.
Although the signs are encouraging, sales are still in the region of 60% below the numbers sold in 2000.
April saw a total of 514 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 514 contracts, 74% (380) were deposited by domestic (Cypriot) purchasers, while 26% (134) were deposited by overseas (non-Cypriot) purchasers.
Although sales fell by 10% in the capital city Nicosia, they rose in all the other districts. Sales in Famagusta increased by 106% compared with April 2015, while sales in Larnaca, Limassol and Paphos rose by 90%, 44% and 14% respectively.
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 |
79 | |||||||||
Famagusta | 2015 | 16 | 27 | 17 | 17 | 21 | 33 | 45 | 14 | 30 | 29 | 33 | 42 |
2016 | 22 |
35 | 33 |
35 |
|||||||||
Larnaca | 2015 | 90 | 71 | 98 | 67 | 68 | 111 | 95 | 75 | 85 | 87 | 111 | 114 |
2016 | 78 |
108 | 121 |
127 |
|||||||||
Limassol | 2015 | 95 | 97 | 160 | 115 | 135 | 135 | 156 | 87 | 114 | 166 | 137 | 169 |
2016 | 92 |
179 | 197 |
166 |
|||||||||
Paphos | 2015 | 74 | 85 | 94 | 94 | 95 | 124 | 140 | 88 | 91 | 117 | 105 | 134 |
2016 | 81 |
100 | 106 |
107 |
|||||||||
Totals |
2015 | 321 | 325 | 452 | 381 | 405 | 464 | 496 | 301 | 385 | 463 | 446 | 513 |
2016 | 327 |
501 | 539 |
514 |
During the four months of 2016 sales have risen 27% to reach 1,881 compared with 1,479 sales during the first four months of 2015.
Domestic property sales
Property sales to the domestic (Cypriot) market in April rose 34% compared to April 2015, with sales reaching 380 compared with 284 in April last year.
With the exception of Nicosia, where the number of property sales fell 7%, they rose in all the other districts.
Sales in Larnaca rose 128% compared to April 2015, while sales in Famagusta, Limassol and Paphos rose 106%, 36% and 2% 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 |
69 | |||||||||
Famagusta | 2015 | 9 | 2 | 16 | 16 | 9 | 30 | 28 | 14 | 25 | 24 | 24 | 41 |
2016 | 20 | 31 | 21 |
33 |
|||||||||
Larnaca | 2015 | 77 | 49 | 91 | 40 | 45 | 82 | 60 | 62 | 53 | 59 | 81 | 81 |
2016 | 68 | 96 | 85 |
91 |
|||||||||
Limassol | 2015 | 71 | 77 | 147 | 90 | 86 | 100 | 123 | 65 | 81 | 127 | 82 | 123 |
2016 | 68 | 158 | 145 |
122 |
|||||||||
Paphos | 2015 | 39 | 38 | 86 | 64 | 34 | 63 | 83 | 64 | 47 | 92 | 71 | 89 |
2016 | 61 | 72 | 59 |
65 |
|||||||||
Totals |
2015 | 235 | 202 | 411 | 284 | 248 | 333 | 350 | 241 | 261 | 352 | 308 | 378 |
2016 | 260 | 427 | 382 |
380 |
Property sales to the domestic market during the first four months of 2016 are up 28% compared with the first four months of 2015 with sales reaching 1,449 compared to last year’s figure of 1,132.
Overseas property sales
Property sales to the overseas market also saw a strong growth – up 38% compared to April 2015, with sales reaching 134 compared with 97 in April last year.
With the exception of Nicosia, where sales fell by 29% they rose in all the other districts.
The two properties sold in Famagusta represented a rise of 100% in the number sold in April last year. Sales in Limassol rose 76%, while those in Paphos and Larnaca rose by 40% and 33% respectively.
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 |
10 | |||||||||
Famagusta | 2015 | 7 | 25 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 3 | 17 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 1 |
2016 | 2 | 4 | 12 |
2 |
|||||||||
Larnaca | 2015 | 13 | 22 | 7 | 27 | 23 | 29 | 35 | 13 | 32 | 28 | 30 | 33 |
2016 | 10 | 12 | 36 |
36 |
|||||||||
Limassol | 2015 | 24 | 20 | 13 | 25 | 49 | 35 | 33 | 22 | 33 | 39 | 55 | 46 |
2016 | 24 | 21 | 52 |
44 |
|||||||||
Paphos | 2015 | 35 | 47 | 8 | 30 | 61 | 61 | 57 | 24 | 44 | 35 | 34 | 45 |
2016 | 20 | 28 | 47 |
42 |
|||||||||
Totals |
2015 | 86 | 123 | 41 | 97 | 157 | 131 | 146 | 60 | 124 | 111 | 138 | 135 |
2016 | 67 | 74 | 157 |
134 |
Sales to the overseas property market during the first four months of 2016 are up 24% compared with the first four months of last year with sales rising to 432 compared with last year’s figure of 347.
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 (Apr) |
432 | 1,449 | 23.0% | 1,881 |
Totals |
57,237 | 137,386 | 29.4% | 194,623 |
There is a mistake in the sentence: “Of those 514 contracts, 74% (514) were deposited by domestic (Cypriot) purchasers, while 26% (134) were deposited by overseas (non-Cypriot) purchasers”.
74% is 380, not 514.
(Ed: Thank you Dina – I have corrected my mistake.)