Cyprus' leading on-line resource for home buyers & real estate investors -

19th March 2024
Cyprus Property News logo
HomeNewsAugust property sales fell 10 per cent

August property sales fell 10 per cent

Cyprus: August property sales fell 10 per centAUGUST saw a 10% decline in property sales compared to August 2018 with sales falling in all market segments with the exception of sales to EU citizens, which rose by 3% according to official figures published by the Department of Lands and Surveys.

During August, the total number of contracts deposited for the sale of commercial property, residential property, building plots and land reached 588; a fall of 10% compared with the 653 contracts deposited August 2018.

Of those 588 contracts, 344 (59%) were deposited on behalf of Cypriots and the remaining 244 (41%) on behalf of non-Cypriots of whom 44% were EU citizens and 56% were non-EU citizens.

Although property sales in Nicosia and Paphos rose by 13% and 6% respectively, these rises were wiped out by falls of 40% in Famagusta, 25% in Limassol and 1% in Larnaca.

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 161 194 131 169 213 145 174 103
Famagusta 2018 48 52 40 52 79 61 61 50 45 57 47 48
2019 53 48 45 96 87 43 49 30
Larnaca 2018 112 99 116 83 113 133 112 94 121 116 143 103
2019 114 125 118 140 173 102 157 93
Limassol 2018 225 256 314 246 282 338 314 262 251 289 344 290
2019 251 256 287 428 546 219 286 196
Paphos 2018 164 163 172 157 201 180 233 156 152 204 230 230
2019 187 211 185 224 404 205 230 166
Totals 2018 695 666 768 655 828 858 896 653 687 811 925 800
2019 766 834 766 1057 1423 714 896 588

Property sales – year to date

During the first eight months of 2019, the number of sales has increased by 17% to reach 7,044 compared to 6,016 in the corresponding period last year.

In percentage terms, sales in Paphos have risen by 27% and sales in Nicosia have risen by 23%. Meanwhile sales in sales in Larnaca have risen 19%, sales in Limassol have risen 10% and sales in Famagusta have risen by 2%. However, in terms of the total number of sales Limassol leads the way with 2,273 with Paphos in second place with 1,812 sales.

Domestic property sales

Sales to the Cypriot market fell 10% in August compared to August 2018.

While sales in both Limassol and Larnaca rose by 10% and by 7% in Nicosia, they fell by 55% and 23% in Famagusta and Limassol respectively

During the first eight months of 2019, domestic sales rose by 24% compared with the same period last year.

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 127 164 115 137 168 121 153 90
Famagusta 2018 -3 18 18 12 34 27 18 29 21 36 14 29
2019 32 19 16 58 45 25 2 13
Larnaca 2018 60 44 67 41 55 61 41 47 60 46 82 52
2019 54 82 47 73 83 42 90 53
Limassol 2018 107 152 199 162 169 207 194 174 175 176 196 201
2019 166 152 192 291 329 138 177 134
Paphos 2018 18 8 43 21 43 55 62 48 32 24 64 60
2019 30 31 28 69 175 69 54 54
Totals 2018 308 306 431 329 436 473 470 382 385 408 497 450
2019 409 448 398 628 800 395 476 344

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

Overseas property sales

Property sales to the overseas (non-Cypriot) market during August 2019 also fell by 10% with 344 contracts of sale deposited compared with 382 in August 2018.

While sales in Nicosia and Paphos rose by 86% and 4% respectively, they fell in the remaining three districts.

Limassol saw a 30% drop in sales, while sales in Famagusta and Larnaca fell 19% and 15% respectively.

During the first eight 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 45 24 21 13
Famagusta 2018 51 34 22 40 45 34 43 21 24 21 33 17
2019 21 29 29 38 42 18 47 17
Larnaca 2018 52 55 49 42 58 72 71 47 61 70 61 51
2019 60 43 71 67 90 60 67 40
Limassol 2018 118 104 115 84 113 131 120 88 76 113 148 89
2019 85 104 95 137 217 81 109 62
Paphos 2018 146 155 129 136 158 125 171 108 120 180 166 170
2019 157 180 157 155 229 136 176 112
Totals 2018 387 360 337 326 392 385 426 271 302 403 428 350
2019 357 386 368 429 623 319 420 244

Overseas sales (EU nationals)

Property sales to EU nationals rose 3% in August compared with August 2018.

Although sales in Limassol fell 29% and sales in Nicosia remained steady, they rose 56% in Famagusta, 18% in Larnaca and 5% in Paphos.

During the first eight months of 2019, sales to EU nationals rose by 9% compared with the same period last year. The only district where they fell was Famagusta; down 23%.

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 20 16 13 5
Famagusta 2018 15 24 8 12 19 16 20 9 0 7 13 6
2019 9 6 14 17 10 8 17 14
Larnaca 2018 9 9 9 6 9 20 15 11 15 13 11 19
2019 12 12 21 18 20 11 16 13
Limassol 2018 15 17 32 17 19 22 25 24 11 27 38 20
2019 16 25 20 21 28 26 27 17
Paphos 2018 41 58 55 49 70 60 79 55 49 91 74 73
2019 56 72 61 48 69 59 73 58
Totals 2018 90 116 113 94 126 126 150 104 85 146 143 135
2019 107 129 125 123 147 120 146 107

Overseas sales (non-EU nationals)

Sales to non-EU nationals took a bit of a bashing, falling by 18% in August compared with the same month last year.

Although sales rose by 300% in Nicosia and by 2% in Paphos, they fell in the other three districts.

Sales in Famagusta fell 75%, while sales in Limassol and Larnaca fell by 30% and 25% respectively.

During the first eight months of 2019, property sales to non-EU nationals rose by 9% compared with the same period last year. Once again, the only district where they fell was Famagusta; down 13%

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 25 8 8 8
Famagusta 2018 36 10 14 28 26 18 23 12 24 14 20 9
2019 12 23 15 21 32 10 30 3
Larnaca 2018 43 46 40 36 49 52 56 36 46 57 50 32
2019 48 31 50 49 70 49 51 27
Limassol 2018 103 87 83 67 94 109 95 64 65 87 110 69
2019 69 79 75 116 189 55 82 45
Paphos 2018 105 97 74 87 88 65 92 53 71 89 92 97
2019 101 108 96 107 160 77 103 54
Totals 2018 297 244 224 232 266 259 276 167 217 257 285 215
2019 250 257 243 306 476 199 274 137

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 (Aug)
3,146 3,898 44.7% 7,044
Totals
68,537 156,288 30.48% 224,825

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).

RELATED ARTICLES

1 COMMENT

  1. Sales falling, yet they keep on building….
    I suppose it will continue until there’s no land left – and no people…

Comments are closed.

Top Stories

Sign up to receive our free newsletter

We handle your data responsibly, find more about our privacy policy

Cyprus property transfer fees

Elsewhere in Cyprus Property News

EUR - Euro Member Countries
GBP
1.1684
RUB
0.0101
CNY
0.1285
CHF
1.0436

Property capital gains tax (CGT) calculator