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29th March 2024
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HomeNewsCyprus property sales at eleven year high

Cyprus property sales at eleven year high

APRIL saw a sharp rise in Cyprus property sales compared to the numbers sold in the corresponding month last year, with the number of contracts deposited at Land Registry offices up 61% according to the Department of Lands & Surveys.

During April a total of 1,057 contracts were deposited at Land Registry offices for the sale of commercial and residential properties and land compared with 655 in April 2018 – and the biggest monthly figure recorded since September 2008 when 1,157 contracts were deposited.

Of those 1,057 contracts, 628 (59%) were deposited by Cypriots and the remaining 429 (41%) by non-Cypriots – 123 of whom were EU citizens and 306 non-EU citizens.

Property sales rose in all districts and the figures show a continuing improvement in the economic sentiment.

A rush by foreign nationals to acquire Cypriot passports via the citizenship-by-investment scheme before tougher criteria come into force on 15 May could also have helped to boost sales.

(Further details of the revised scheme may be found at Cyprus Investment Programme.)

Sales rose in all districts. In percentage terms, Famagusta led the way with sales up 85%, followed by Limassol with a rise of 74%, while sales in Larnaca, Nicosia and Paphos rose by 69%, 44% and 43% respectively.

Total Property Sale Contracts – 2018/2019 Comparison

District Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Nicosia 2018 146 96 126 117 153 146 176 91 118 145 161 131
2019 161 194 131 169
Famagusta 2018 48 52 40 52 79 61 61 50 45 57 47 48
2019 53 48 45 96
Larnaca 2018 112 99 116 83 113 133 112 94 121 116 143 103
2019 114 125 118 140
Limassol 2018 225 256 314 246 282 338 314 262 251 289 344 290
2019 251 256 287 428
Paphos 2018 164 163 172 157 201 180 233 156 152 204 230 230
2019 187 211 185 224
Totals 2018 695 666 768 655 828 858 896 653 687 811 925 800
2019 766 834 766 1,057

Property sales – year to date

During the first four months of 2019 sales rose 23% compared to the same period last year. Sales in Nicosia rose 35% and sales in Famagusta rose 26%. Meanwhile sales in Paphos rose 33%, while those in Larnaca and Limassol rose 21% and 17% respectively.

Domestic sales

Sales to the Cypriot market shot up 91% in April compared to April 2018, with significant rises in all districts. In percentage terms Famagusta led the way with sales up 383% compared with the same month last year followed by Paphos, where sales rose 229%. Meanwhile sales in Limassol, Larnaca and Nicosia rose by 80%, 78% and 47% respectively.

During the first four months of 2019, domestic sales rose by 37% compared with the same period last year.

However, some of these domestic sales may have resulted from properties acquired by banks as part of loan restructuring agreements, etc.

Domestic Property Sale Contracts – 2018/2019 Comparison

District Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Nicosia 2018 126 84 104 93 135 123 155 84 97 126 141 108
2019 127 164 115 137
Famagusta 2018 -3 18 18 12 34 27 18 29 21 36 14 29
2019 32 19 16 58
Larnaca 2018 60 44 67 41 55 61 41 47 60 46 82 52
2019 54 82 47 73
Limassol 2018 107 152 199 162 169 207 194 174 175 176 196 201
2019 166 152 192 291
Paphos 2018 18 8 43 21 43 55 62 48 32 24 64 60
2019 30 31 28 69
Totals 2018 308 306 431 329 436 473 470 382 385 408 497 450
2019 409 448 398 628

Overseas sales

Property sales to the overseas (non-Cypriot) market during April 2019 rose by 32% with 429 contracts of sale deposited compared with 326 in April 2018.

Although sales in Famagusta fell by 5%, they rose in the remaining four districts. Sales in Limassol rose 63%, sales in Larnaca rose 60%, sales in Nicosia rose 33% and sales in Paphos rose 14%

During the first four months of 2019, sales to the overseas rose by 9% compared with the same period last year.

Total Overseas Property Sale Contracts – 2018/2019 Comparison

District Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Nicosia 2018 20 12 22 24 18 23 21 7 21 19 20 23
2019 34 30 16 32
Famagusta 2018 51 34 22 40 45 34 43 21 24 21 33 17
2019 21 29 29 38
Larnaca 2018 52 55 49 42 58 72 71 47 61 70 61 51
2019 60 43 71 67
Limassol 2018 118 104 115 84 113 131 120 88 76 113 148 89
2019 85 104 95 137
Paphos 2018 146 155 129 136 158 125 171 108 120 180 166 170
2019 157 180 157 155
Totals 2018 387 360 337 326 392 385 426 271 302 403 428 350
2019 357 386 368 429

Sales to EU nationals

Property sales to EU nationals rose 31% in April compared with the same month last year.

With the exception of Paphos, where sales to EU nationals fell by 2%, they rose in all the other districts.

Sales in Larnaca rose 200%, while sales in Nicosia rose 90%. Meanwhile sales in Famagusta and Limassol rose by 42% and 24% respectively.

During the first four months of 2019 sales to EU nationals have risen 17% compared to the first quarter of 2018.

Foreign (EU) Property Sale Contracts – 2018/2019 Comparison

District Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Nicosia 2018 10 8 8 10 9 8 11 5 10 8 7 15
2019 14 14 9 19
Famagusta 2018 15 24 8 12 19 16 20 9 0 7 13 6
2019 9 6 14 17
Larnaca 2018 9 9 9 6 9 20 15 11 15 13 11 19
2019 12 12 21 18
Limassol 2018 15 17 32 17 19 22 25 24 11 27 38 20
2019 16 25 20 21
Paphos 2018 41 58 55 49 70 60 79 55 49 91 74 73
2019 56 72 61 48
Totals 2018 90 116 113 94 126 126 150 104 85 146 143 135
2019 107 129 125 123

Sales to non-EU nationals

Property sales to non-EU nationals rose 32% in April compared with the same month last year.

Although sales in Famagusta and Nicosia fell by 25% and 7% respectively, they rose in the remaining three districts. Sales in Limassol rose by 73%, sales in Larnaca rose 36% and sales in Paphos rose 23%.

During the first four months of 2019 sales to non-EU nationals have risen 6% compared to the same period last year.

Foreign (Non-EU) Property Sale Contracts – 2018/2019 Comparison

District Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Nicosia 2018 10 4 13 14 9 15 10 2 11 11 13 8
2019 20 17 7 13
Famagusta 2018 36 10 14 28 26 18 23 12 24 14 20 9
2019 12 23 15 21
Larnaca 2018 43 46 40 36 49 52 56 36 46 57 50 32
2019 48 31 50 49
Limassol 2018 103 87 83 67 94 109 95 64 65 87 110 69
2019 69 79 75 116
Paphos 2018 105 97 74 87 88 65 92 53 71 89 92 97
2019 101 108 96 107
Totals 2018 297 244 224 232 266 259 276 167 217 257 285 215
2019 250 257 243 306

Analysis of property sales since 2000

Cyprus Property Sale Contracts 2000 – 2019

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
2,406 6,328 27.5% 8,734
20181 4,367 4,875 47.3% 9,242
2019 (Apr)
1,540 1,883 45.0% 3,423
Totals
66,931 154,273 30.3% 221,204

1 The Department of Lands & Surveys has advised that overseas sales in 2018 and subsequent year should not be compared to sales in previous years due to changes in the methodology used to classify ‘Aliens’ (foreigners).

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