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28th March 2024
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HomeNewsProperty sales recovery strengthens

Property sales recovery strengthens

Cyprus property sales recovery strengthensTHE NUMBER of property sales in Cyprus during June 2016 increased by 42 per cent compared with June 2015 according to the latest official figures issued by the Department of Lands & Surveys.

The 42% increase in June follows a 17% increase in May and a 35% increase in April.

However the figures include debt-to-asset swaps, which inflate the numbers. Borrowers who are unable to service their loans have been encouraged to benefit from the debt-to-asset swaps as the law passed on 1st January, which exempts them from paying Property Transfer Fees. It also helps them to repay their debts and avoids insolvency. The debt-to-asset swaps also helps the banks reduce their non-performing loans (NPLs) and improves their balance sheets.

June saw a total of 657 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 657 contracts, 70% (462) were deposited by domestic (Cypriot) purchasers, while 30% (195) were deposited by overseas (non-Cypriot) purchasers.

Sales rose in all districts. Sales in Famagusta rose 64% compared with June 2015, while sales in Nicosia rose 61%. Meanwhile sales in Paphos, Larnaca and Famagusta rose 48%, 8% and 3% 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 82 98
Famagusta 2015 16 27 17 17 21 33 45 14 30 29 33 42
2016 22
35 33
35
24 34
Larnaca 2015 90 71 98 67 68 111 95 75 85 87 111 114
2016 78
108 121
127
103 120
Limassol 2015 95 97 160 115 135 135 156 87 114 166 137 169
2016 92
179 197
166
145 222
Paphos 2015 74 85 94 94 95 124 140 88 91 117 105 134
2016 81
100 106
107
120 183
Totals
2015 321 325 452 381 405 464 496 301 385 463 446 513
2016 327
501 539
514
474 657

During the first half of 2016 sales have risen 28% to reach 3,012 compared with 2,348 sales during the corresponding period of last year.

Domestic property sales

Property sales to the domestic (Cypriot) market in June rose 39% compared to June 2015, with sales reaching 462 compared with 333 in the same month last year.

Although sales in Famagusta and Larnaca fell by 77% and 9% respectively compared to June last year, they rose in the other three districts.

Sales in Paphos rose 100%, while sales in Limassol and Nicosia rose 62% and 59% 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 68 92
Famagusta 2015 9 2 16 16 9 30 28 14 25 24 24 41
2016 20 31 21
33
24 7
Larnaca 2015 77 49 91 40 45 82 60 62 53 59 81 81
2016 68 96 85
91
93 75
Limassol 2015 71 77 147 90 86 100 123 65 81 127 82 123
2016 68 158 145
122
126 162
Paphos 2015 39 38 86 64 34 63 83 64 47 92 71 89
2016 61 72 59
65
105 126
Totals
2015 235 202 411 284 248 333 350 241 261 352 308 378
2016 260 427 382
380
416
462

Domestic sales during the first half of 2016 are up 36% compared with the first half of 2015 with sales reaching 2,327 compared with 1,713 sales during the corresponding period last year.

Overseas property sales

Property sales to the overseas (non-Cypriot) market rose 49% in June compared with June 2015 with 195 properties being sold compared with just 131 in the same month last year.

Although sales in Paphos to the overseas market fell 7% compared to June 2015, they rose in all the other districts.

Sales in Famagusta rose 800% (with no sales being recorded in May), while sales in Nicosia, Limassol and Larnaca rose by 100%, 71% and 55% 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 14 6
Famagusta 2015 7 25 1 1 12 3 17 0 5 5 9 1
2016 2 4 12
2
0
27
Larnaca 2015 13 22 7 27 23 29 35 13 32 28 30 33
2016 10 12 36
36
10
45
Limassol 2015 24 20 13 25 49 35 33 22 33 39 55 46
2016 24 21 52
44
19
60
Paphos 2015 35 47 8 30 61 61 57 24 44 35 34 45
2016 20 28 47
42
15
57
Totals
2015 86 123 41 97 157 131 146 60 124 111 138 135
2016 67 74 157
134
58
195

Sales to the overseas property market during the half of 2016 are up 8% compared with the first half of last year with sales rising to 685 compared to last year’s figure of 635. However, the half year’s sales in Paphos and Famagusta are down 14% and 4% respectively.

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 (Jun)
685 2,327 29.7% 3,012
Totals
57,490 138,264 29.4% 195,754

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1 COMMENT

  1. I hope that there’s a Chinese or Russian version of the update.

    Seriously wasted upon any Brits who know better than to trust Cypriot statistics.

    After all: an increase of 1, when Sales are 1 gives 100% increase.

    Lies, damned lies and statistics

Comments are closed.

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