THE NUMBER of property sales in Cyprus during September rose 18 per cent compared to September 2016 according to official statistics published by the Department of Lands and Surveys earlier today.
This rise follows a 27% increase in August, an 18% increase in July, and a 28% increase in June.
During September a total of 602 contracts for the sale of residential and commercial properties and land (building plots and fields) were deposited at Land Registry offices across Cyprus, compared with the 556 deposited in September 2016.
Of those 602 contracts, 441 (70%) were deposited by Cypriot purchasers and 161 (30%) were deposited by overseas purchasers.
Although sales in Larnaca fell by 12% compared with September 2016, they rose in the remaining four districts.
Sales in Famagusta rose 78%, while sales in Paphos rose by 17%. Meanwhile sales in Nicosia and Limassol rose by 7% and 4% respectively.
Total Property Sale Contracts – 2016/2017 Comparison
District | Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nicosia | 2016 | 54 |
79 |
82 |
79 | 82 | 98 | 102 | 64 | 81 | 80 | 86 | 144 |
2017 | 72 | 73 | 79 | 80 | 118 | 162 | 124 | 76 | 87 | ||||
Famagusta | 2016 | 22 |
35 | 33 |
35 |
24 | 34 |
27 | 41 | 32 | 47 | 19 | 87 |
2017 | 21 | 19 | 40 | 29 | 38 | 46 | 59 | 47 | 57 | ||||
Larnaca | 2016 | 78 |
108 | 121 |
127 |
103 | 120 |
123 | 81 | 121 | 111 | 114 | 153 |
2017 | 102 | 100 | 113 | 69 | 119 | 96 | 103 | 88 | 107 | ||||
Limassol | 2016 | 92 |
179 | 197 |
166 |
145 | 222 |
220 | 129 | 195 | 270 | 249 | 432 |
2017 | 132 | 177 | 232 | 192 | 298 | 304 | 289 | 201 | 203 | ||||
Paphos | 2016 | 81 |
100 | 106 |
107 |
120 | 183 |
153 | 136 | 127 | 126 | 183 | 318 |
2017 | 96 | 87 | 162 | 136 | 183 | 235 | 184 | 160 | 148 | ||||
Totals | 2016 | 327 |
501 | 539 |
514 |
474 | 657 |
625 | 451 | 556 | 634 | 651 | 1,134 |
2017 | 423 | 456 | 626 | 506 | 756 | 843 | 739 | 572 | 602 |
During the first nine months of 2017, sales contracts have risen 19% compared to the same period last year.
(An unknown number of property sales contracts relate to ‘non-sale’ agreements such as loan restructurings, recoveries and debt-to-asset swaps agreed between the banks and defaulting borrowers. These contracts inflate the total figures above and the domestic sales figures below.)
Domestic property sales
Property sales to the domestic (Cypriot) in September rose 3% compared to September 2016.
Although sales in Larnaca and Nicosia fell by 19% and 4% respectively, they rose by 95% in Larnaca, 8% in Limassol and by 2% in Paphos.
Domestic Property Sale Contracts – 2016/2017 Comparison
District | Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nicosia | 2016 | 43 |
70 |
10 |
69 | 68 | 92 | 94 | 58 | 75 | 70 | 73 | 116 |
2017 | 63 | 69 |
71 |
62 |
103 |
150 |
109 |
70 |
72 |
||||
Famagusta | 2016 | 20 | 31 | 21 |
33 |
24 | 7 | 19 | 32 | 22 | 37 | 9 | 72 |
2017 | 20 | 17 | 24 | 23 | 27 |
31 | 30 |
25 |
43 | ||||
Larnaca | 2016 | 68 | 96 | 85 |
91 |
93 | 75 | 91 | 67 | 90 | 81 | 74 | 114 |
2017 | 77 | 80 | 85 | 49 | 76 |
70 | 62 |
63 |
73 | ||||
Limassol | 2016 | 68 | 158 | 145 |
122 |
126 | 162 | 156 | 101 | 142 | 202 | 196 | 307 |
2017 | 97 | 130 | 176 | 152 | 202 |
227 | 194 |
160 |
153 | ||||
Paphos | 2016 | 61 | 72 | 59 |
65 |
105 | 126 | 74 | 88 | 98 | 83 | 111 | 171 |
2017 | 73 | 47 | 82 | 93 | 88 |
157 | 93 |
81 |
100 | ||||
Totals | 2016 | 260 | 427 | 382 |
380 |
416 |
462 |
434 | 346 | 427 | 473 | 463 | 780 |
2017 | 330 | 343 | 438 |
379 | 496 |
636 | 488 |
399 |
441 |
During the first nine months of 2017, domestic sales contracts have risen 12% compared to the same period last year.
Overseas property sales
Property sales to the overseas (non-Cypriot) market during September 2017 rose 25% compared to the same month last year with 161 contracts of sale deposited compared with 129 in September 2016.
With the exception of Limassol, where sales fell 6%, they rose in all the other districts.
Nicosia led the way with the number of property sale contracts deposited rose 15% compared with September 2016. Meanwhile, sales in Paphos rose 66% and by 40% in Famagusta and by 10% in Larnaca.
Overseas Property Sale Contracts – 2016/2017 Comparison
District | Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nicosia | 2016 | 11 |
9 |
10 |
10 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 13 | 28 |
2017 | 9 |
4 |
6 |
18 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 6 | 15 | ||||
Famagusta | 2016 | 2 | 4 | 12 |
2 |
0 |
27 |
8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 15 |
2017 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 6 | 11 | 15 | 29 | 22 | 14 | ||||
Larnaca | 2016 | 10 | 12 | 36 |
36 |
10 |
45 |
32 | 14 | 31 | 30 | 40 | 39 |
2017 | 25 | 20 | 28 | 20 | 43 | 26 | 41 | 25 | 34 | ||||
Limassol | 2016 | 24 | 21 | 52 |
44 |
19 |
60 |
64 | 28 | 53 | 68 | 53 | 125 |
2017 | 35 | 47 | 56 | 40 | 96 | 77 | 75 | 41 | 50 | ||||
Paphos | 2016 | 20 | 28 | 47 |
42 |
15 |
57 | 79 | 48 | 29 | 43 | 72 | 147 |
2017 | 23 | 40 | 80 | 43 | 95 | 78 | 91 | 79 | 48 | ||||
Totals | 2016 | 67 | 74 | 157 |
134 |
58 |
195 |
191 | 105 | 129 | 161 | 188 | 354 |
2017 | 93 | 113 | 186 | 127 | 260 | 208 | 251 | 173 | 161 |
During the first nine months of 2017, property sales to the overseas market have risen 42% compared with the same period last year reaching a total of 1,574.
(During September a total of 121 properties were transferred to overseas buyers bringing the total number of transfers for the year to date to 739.)
Cyprus Property Sale Contracts 2000 – 2017
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 |
1,813 | 5,250 | 25.7% | 7,063 |
2017 (Sept) | 1,574 | 3,949 | 28.5% | 5,523 |
Totals |
60,192 | 145,138 | 29.3% | 205,328 |
Re Robert B below.
I reckon we – most of us – know the weaknesses in both property construction across the island, and the proper delivery to purchasers of clean Title Deeds, will it have changed with these Up-scale multi-storey developments – probably not?
Will these film star “coastal High Rise Properties,” / grossly overpriced concrete boxes with poor insulation etc, have full & clean Title Deeds with no problems at point of sale / exchange of contracts?
An interesting and overall maybe encouraging plethora of statistics, for sure – and perhaps “Reasons to be Cheerful” ….?
.
But I – and others I know ! – sense Cyprus property may soon be heading for the top (Boom!) of the often-discussed ‘Boom and Bust’ scenarios seen in many countries at different times (from the little old Republic of Ireland to the U S of A…amongst many other examples.. )
Here, you only have to see the increasing numbers of coastal High-Rise properties being frantically built, especially along the Limassol ‘strips’, most close to, or with good views of – the sea, stimulated very probably by the ‘attractive’ ‘Cyprus < EU Passports being made available for those 'non EU' wealthies buying £500k+ properties and above, and many it seems also Depositing €1m upwards in Cyprus banks – a 'scheme' successfully used elsewhere. But the Cyprus version, we are told, already under surveillance it seems from Brussels and the IMF.
Boom yes BUT…..