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29th March 2024
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HomeNewsJuly property sales up 26 per cent (Updated)

July property sales up 26 per cent (Updated)

Cyprus property sales up 26 per centPROPERTY sales in Cyprus increased by 26 per cent in July compared July last year according to the latest official figures published by the Department of Lands and Surveys.

During July a total of 625 contracts for the sale of commercial and residential properties and land (building plots and fields) were deposited at Land Registry offices across the island; an increase of 26% over the 496 sold in July last year.

Of those 625 contracts, 69% (434) were deposited by domestic (Cypriot) purchasers, while 31% (191) were deposited by overseas (non-Cypriot) purchasers.

However the demand for properties being auctioned is extremely weak. Of the 43 pieces of real estate that were offered at auction in July, only 6 were purchased.

The 26% increase in July follows a 42% increase in July and a 17% increase in May and a 35% increase in April.

The number of contracts includes ‘non-sale’ agreements such as loan restructurings, recoveries and debt-to-asset swaps agreed between the banks and defaulting borrowers. As these ‘non-sale’ agreements are not recorded separately, there is no clear picture of the actual demand for property.

With the exception of Famagusta, where sales during July fell 40% compared to the same period last year, they rose in all other districts.

Sales in Nicosia rose 70% compared with July 2015, while sales in Limassol, Larnaca and Paphos rose by 41%, 29% and 9% 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 98 102
Famagusta 2015 16 27 17 17 21 33 45 14 30 29 33 42
2016 22
35 33
35
24 34
27
Larnaca 2015 90 71 98 67 68 111 95 75 85 87 111 114
2016 78
108 121
127
103 120
123
Limassol 2015 95 97 160 115 135 135 156 87 114 166 137 169
2016 92
179 197
166
145 222
220
Paphos 2015 74 85 94 94 95 124 140 88 91 117 105 134
2016 81
100 106
107
120 183
153
Totals
2015 321 325 452 381 405 464 496 301 385 463 446 513
2016 327
501 539
514
474 657
625

Year to date performance

During the first 7 months of 2016 property sales have risen 28% to reach 3,637 compared with 2,844 during the corresponding period last year.

Property sales have risen in all districts. Sales in Limassol have risen 37% and have risen by 30% in Larnaca. Sales in Nicosia, Paphos and Famagusta have risen 23%, 20% and 19%.

Domestic property sales

Property sales to the domestic (Cypriot) market in July rose 24% compared to July 2015, with sales reaching 434 compared with 350 in the same month last year.

(Note that domestic sales include ‘non-sale’ agreements and the figures presented do not truly reflect the number of ‘real’ sales.)

While sales in Famagusta and Paphos fell by 32% and 11% respectively compared to July last year, they rose in the other three districts.

Sales in Nicosia rose 68%, while sales in Larnaca and Limassol rose 52% and 27% 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 94
Famagusta 2015 9 2 16 16 9 30 28 14 25 24 24 41
2016 20 31 21
33
24 7 19
Larnaca 2015 77 49 91 40 45 82 60 62 53 59 81 81
2016 68 96 85
91
93 75 91
Limassol 2015 71 77 147 90 86 100 123 65 81 127 82 123
2016 68 158 145
122
126 162 156
Paphos 2015 39 38 86 64 34 63 83 64 47 92 71 89
2016 61 72 59
65
105 126 74
Totals
2015 235 202 411 284 248 333 350 241 261 352 308 378
2016 260 427 382
380
416
462
434

Domestic sales during the first seven months of 2016 are up 34% compared with the first seven months of 2015 with sales reaching 2,761 compared with 1,713 during the corresponding period last year.

Sales have risen in all districts. Sales in Famagusta have risen 41% and have risen 35% in both Limassol and Larnaca. Sales in Paphos are up 34%, while sales in Nicosia have risen 25%.

Overseas property sales

Property sales to the overseas (non-Cypriot) market rose 31% in July compared with July 2015 with 191 properties being sold compared with 146 in the same month last year.

While sales in Famagusta and Larnaca to the overseas market fell 53% and 9% respectively compared to July 2015, they rose in all the other districts.

In percentage terms, Nicosia led the way with sales to the overseas market up 100% compared to July 2015, while sales in Limassol, and Paphos rose by 94% and 39% 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 8
Famagusta 2015 7 25 1 1 12 3 17 0 5 5 9 1
2016 2 4 12
2
0
27
8
Larnaca 2015 13 22 7 27 23 29 35 13 32 28 30 33
2016 10 12 36
36
10
45
32
Limassol 2015 24 20 13 25 49 35 33 22 33 39 55 46
2016 24 21 52
44
19
60
64
Paphos 2015 35 47 8 30 61 61 57 24 44 35 34 45
2016 20 28 47
42
15
57 79
Totals
2015 86 123 41 97 157 131 146 60 124 111 138 135
2016 67 74 157
134
58
195
191

Overseas sales during the first seven months of 2016 are up 12% compared with the first seven months of 2015 with sales reaching 876 compared with 781 during the corresponding period last year.

With the exception of Famagusta and Paphos, where sales have fallen by 17% and 4% respectively, they have risen in all the other districts.

Sales in Limassol have risen 43%, while sales in Larnaca and Nicosia are up 16% and 11% 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 (Jul)
876 2,761 24.1% 3,637
Totals
57,681 138,698 29.4% 196,379

 

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3 COMMENTS

  1. Does the Article on property sales mean actual sales or title deed acquisitions? This is quite an important difference. Many thanks.

    Ed: The figures are show the number of contracts for the acquisition of property deposited at Land Registries. They are not Title Deed acquisitions. (Title Deed acquisitions = property transfers). The actual transfer of the property can take many years.

  2. “The number of contracts includes ‘non-sale’ agreements such as loan restructurings, recoveries and debt-to-asset swaps agreed between the banks and defaulting borrowers”

    So, bottom line; these figures are meaningless.

  3. If one takes into account the first half of each year, 2015 = 2350 properties sold 2016 = 3012 properties sold.

    Even if the ratio is 20% more year on year, it’s not that much of a difference as the volume of sale is quite small…

    And, on top of that, if one subtract the debt-to-asset properties, the title deeds at last delivered for properties already sold, not sure the real figure of property sale is increasing…

Comments are closed.

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