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19th March 2024
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HomeNewsCyprus property sales surge in May

Cyprus property sales surge in May

MAY saw another surge in the number of Cyprus property sales during May compared to the corresponding month last year, with the number of contracts deposited at Land Registry offices up 72% according to official figures published by the Department of Lands and Surveys.

During May 2019 a total of 1,423 contracts were deposited for the sale of commercial and residential properties and land compared with 828 in May 2018 – and the largest monthly figure recorded since July 2008 when 1,542 contracts were deposited.

Of those 1,423 contracts, 800 (59%) were deposited by Cypriots and the remaining 623 (41%) by non-Cypriots – 147 of whom were EU citizens and 476 non-EU citizens.

A last-minute rush by foreign nationals to acquire Cypriot passports before tougher criteria come into force on 15 May could have helped to boost sales. (Further details of the revised scheme may be found at Cyprus Investment Programme.)

Property sales rose in all districts with Paphos leading the way where sales more than doubled. Meanwhile, sales in Limassol rose by 94%, sales in Larnaca rose by 53% and sales in Nicosia (the capital) and Famagusta rose 39% and 10% 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 161 194 131 169 213
Famagusta 2018 48 52 40 52 79 61 61 50 45 57 47 48
2019 53 48 45 96 87
Larnaca 2018 112 99 116 83 113 133 112 94 121 116 143 103
2019 114 125 118 140 173
Limassol 2018 225 256 314 246 282 338 314 262 251 289 344 290
2019 251 256 287 428 546
Paphos 2018 164 163 172 157 201 180 233 156 152 204 230 230
2019 187 211 185 224 404
Totals 2018 695 666 768 655 828 858 896 653 687 811 925 800
2019 766 834 766 1057 1423

Cyprus property sales – year to date

During the first five months of 2019, the number of sales increased by 34% to reach 4846 compared to 828 in the corresponding period of last year. In percentage terms, sales in Paphos rose 41%, sales in Nicosia rose 36%, sales in Limassol rose 34% and sales in Larnaca and Famagusta rose 28% and 21% respectively.

Limassol saw the highest number of sales (1768), Paphos (1211), Nicosia (868), Larnaca (670) and Famagusta (329).

Domestic sales

Sales to the Cypriot rose 83% in May compared to May 2018, with a significant rise of 307% in Paphos. Sales in Limassol rose 95%, sales in Larnaca rose 51%, while sales in Famagusta and Nicosia rose 32% and 24% respectively.

During the first five months of 2019, domestic sales rose by 48% 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 127 164 115 137 168
Famagusta 2018 -3 18 18 12 34 27 18 29 21 36 14 29
2019 32 19 16 58 45
Larnaca 2018 60 44 67 41 55 61 41 47 60 46 82 52
2019 54 82 47 73 83
Limassol 2018 107 152 199 162 169 207 194 174 175 176 196 201
2019 166 152 192 291 329
Paphos 2018 18 8 43 21 43 55 62 48 32 24 64 60
2019 30 31 28 69 175
Totals 2018 308 306 431 329 436 473 470 382 385 408 497 450
2019 409 448 398 628 800

Overseas sales

Property sales to the overseas (non-Cypriot) market during May 2019 rose by 59% with 623 contracts of sale deposited compared with 392 in May 2018.

Although sales in Famagusta fell by 7%, they rose in the remaining four districts. Sales in Nicosia rose 150%, sales in Limassol rose 92%, while sales in Larnaca and Paphos rose by 55% and 45% respectively.

During the first five months of 2019, sales to the overseas rose by 20% compared with the same period last year.

Total Overseas Cyprus 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 45
Famagusta 2018 51 34 22 40 45 34 43 21 24 21 33 17
2019 21 29 29 38 42
Larnaca 2018 52 55 49 42 58 72 71 47 61 70 61 51
2019 60 43 71 67 90
Limassol 2018 118 104 115 84 113 131 120 88 76 113 148 89
2019 85 104 95 137 217
Paphos 2018 146 155 129 136 158 125 171 108 120 180 166 170
2019 157 180 157 155 229
Totals 2018 387 360 337 326 392 385 426 271 302 403 428 350
2019 357 386 368 429 623

Sales to EU nationals

Property sales to EU nationals rose 17% in May compared with the same month last year.

With the exception of Famagusta and Paphos, where sales to EU nationals fell by 47% and 1% respectively, they rose in all the other districts.

Sales in Nicosia and Larnaca rose 122%, and sales in Limassol by 47%.

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

Foreign (EU) Cyprus 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 20
Famagusta 2018 15 24 8 12 19 16 20 9 0 7 13 6
2019 9 6 14 17 10
Larnaca 2018 9 9 9 6 9 20 15 11 15 13 11 19
2019 12 12 21 18 20
Limassol 2018 15 17 32 17 19 22 25 24 11 27 38 20
2019 16 25 20 21 28
Paphos 2018 41 58 55 49 70 60 79 55 49 91 74 73
2019 56 72 61 48 69
Totals 2018 90 116 113 94 126 126 150 104 85 146 143 135
2019 107 129 125 123 147

Sales to non-EU nationals

Property sales to non-EU nationals rose 79% in May compared with the same month last year, with sales rising in all districts.

Sales in Nicosia rose 150% followed by Limassol, where sales rose 101%. Meanwhile sales in Paphos, Larnaca and Famagusta rose 82%, 43% and 23% respectively.

During the first five months of 2019 sales to non-EU nationals have risen 21% compared to the same period last year.

Foreign (Non-EU) Cyprus 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 25
Famagusta 2018 36 10 14 28 26 18 23 12 24 14 20 9
2019 12 23 15 21 32
Larnaca 2018 43 46 40 36 49 52 56 36 46 57 50 32
2019 48 31 50 49 70
Limassol 2018 103 87 83 67 94 109 95 64 65 87 110 69
2019 69 79 75 116 189
Paphos 2018 105 97 74 87 88 65 92 53 71 89 92 97
2019 101 108 96 107 160
Totals 2018 297 244 224 232 266 259 276 167 217 257 285 215
2019 250 257 243 306 476

Analysis of Cyprus 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 (May)
2,163 2,683 44.6% 4,846
Totals
67,554 155,073 30.3% 222,627

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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1 COMMENT

  1. It would be interesting to see forced sales by banks and other mortgage lenders split out from normal sales.. Both types result in a sales contract, but can have opposing effects on price trends.

    Ed: Unfortunately the statistics provided by the Department of Lands & Surveys do not show this information.

Comments are closed.

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