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19th March 2024
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HomeNewsCyprus property sales fall in February

Cyprus property sales fall in February

A SECOND disappointing month for the Cyprus property market saw sales falling by 11% in February compared with February 2019 with sales falling in all of the island’s five districts according to the Department of Lands & Surveys.

Paphos was hardest hit with the number of sales contracts deposited at the District Lands Office dropping by 19%, while Limassol suffered a fall of 12%. Meanwhile, the number of contracts deposited in Nicosia, Larnaca and Famagusta fell by 8%, 6% and 2% respectively.

Total Property Sale Contracts – 2019/2020 Comparison

District Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Nicosia 2019 161 194 131 169 213 145 174 103 137 183 208 180
2020 197 178
Famagusta 2019 53 48 45 96 87 43 49 30 40 50 48 64
2020 50 47
Larnaca 2019 114 125 118 140 173 102 157 93 102 160 122 162
2020 147 118
Limassol 2019 251 256 287 428 546 219 286 196 240 228 296 284
2020 180 225
Paphos 2019 187 211 185 224 404 205 230 166 173 192 233 220
2020 168 171
Totals 2019 766 834 766 1057 1423 714 896 588 662 813 907 910
2020 742 739

In the first two months of the year, Limassol remains the most popular with those buying property followed by Nicosia (the capital), Paphos, Larnaca and Famagusta. The only district to record a rise in sales during the first two months is Larnaca.

Domestic property sales

Property sales to the domestic market (which accounted for 54% of all sales in the month) fell by 10% compared to February 2019 with sales falling in all districts.

Larnaca saw the biggest fall, down 22% compared to the same month last year. Sales in Limassol fell 11%, sales in Paphos fell 6% and sales in both Nicosia and Famagusta fell by 5%.

Domestic Property Sale Contracts – 2019/2020 Comparison

District Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Nicosia 2019 127 164 115 137 168 121 153 90 114 163 187 154
2020 178 155
Famagusta 2019 32 19 16 58 45 25 2 13 16 33 13 26
2020 10 18
Larnaca 2019 54 82 47 73 83 42 90 53 67 81 69 88
2020 76 64
Limassol 2019 166 152 192 291 329 138 177 134 176 144 210 212
2020 98 136
Paphos 2019 30 31 28 69 175 69 54 54 34 66 64 69
2020 55 29
Totals 2019 409 448 398 628 800 395 476 344 407 487 543 549
2020 417 402

In the first two months of 2019, sales to the domestic market have fallen by 4%. Although sales in Paphos, Nicosia and Larnaca have risen by 38%, 14% and 3% respectively, falls of 45% in Famagusta and 26% in Limassol have more than wiped out the rises in the other three districts.

Overseas property sales

Property sales to the overseas market fell by 13% compared to February 2019 with sales falling in three of the island’s five districts.

While sales in Larnaca rose by 26% and sales in Famagusta remained steady, they fell 23% in Nicosia, 21% in Paphos and 14% in Limassol.

Total Overseas Property Sale Contracts – 2019/2020 Comparison

District Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Nicosia 2019 34 30 16 32 45 24 21 13 23 20 21 26
2020 19 23
Famagusta 2019 21 29 29 38 42 18 47 17 24 17 35 38
2020 40 29
Larnaca 2019 60 43 71 67 90 60 67 40 35 79 53 74
2020 71 54
Limassol 2019 85 104 95 137 217 81 109 62 64 84 86 72
2020 82 89
Paphos 2019 157 180 157 155 229 136 176 112 139 126 169 151
2020 113 142
Totals 2019 357 386 368 429 623 319 420 244 285 326 364 361
2020 325 337

In the first two months of 2019 sales to the overseas market have fallen 11% compared to the same period last year.

Although sales in the coastal town of Famagusta and Larnaca, the lower priced areas of Cyprus for buying property, have risen by 38% and 21% respectively, sales in Nicosia are down 34%, sales in Paphos are down 24% and sales in Limassol are down 10%

Sales to EU citizens

Sales to EU citizens remained steady compared to February 2019 with sales rising in three of the island’s five districts.

While property sales in Famagusta, Limassol and Larnaca rose by 133%, 20% and 8% respectively, they fell by 17% in Paphos and by 14% in Nicosia.

Foreign (EU) Property Sale Contracts – 2019/2020 Comparison

District Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Nicosia 2019 14 14 9 19 20 16 13 5 8 10 15 14
2020 9 12
Famagusta 2019 9 6 14 17 10 8 17 14 10 5 9 23
2020 6 14
Larnaca 2019 12 12 21 18 20 11 16 13 6 23 14 23
2020 21 13
Limassol 2019 16 25 20 21 28 26 27 17 25 30 26 25
2020 28 30
Paphos 2019 56 72 61 48 69 59 73 58 61 95 61 72
2020 40 60
Totals 2019 107 129 125 123 147 120 146 107 110 133 125 157
2020 104 129

In the first two months of 2020 sales to EU citizens have fallen 1% compared to the same period last year.

Although sales in Larnaca, Limassol and Famagusta have risen by 42%, 41% and 33% respectively, they have fallen by 25% in Nicosia and 22% in Paphos.

Sales to non-EU citizens

Sales to non-EU citizens fell 19% compared to February 2019 with sales falling in all districts with the exception of Larnaca where the rose 32%.

Property sales in Famagusta fell 35%, while sales in Nicosia fell 31%. Meanwhile sales in Limassol and Paphos fell by 25% and 24% respectively.

Foreign (Non-EU) Property Sale Contracts – 2019/2020 Comparison

District Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Nicosia 2019 20 17 7 13 25 8 8 8 15 10 6 12
2020 10 11
Famagusta 2019 12 23 15 21 32 10 30 3 14 12 26 15
2020 34 15
Larnaca 2019 48 31 50 49 70 49 51 27 29 56 39 51
2020 50 41
Limassol 2019 69 79 75 116 189 55 82 45 39 54 60 47
2020 54 59
Paphos 2019 101 108 96 107 160 77 103 54 78 61 108 79
2020 73 82
Totals 2019 250 257 243 306 476 199 274 137 175 193 239 204
2020 221 208

In the first two months of 2020 sales to non-EU citizens have fallen 15% compared to the same period last year.

Although sales in Famagusta and Larnaca have risen by 40% and 15% respectively, they’ve fallen 42% in Nicosia, 26% in Paphos and 24% in Limassol.

Analysis of property sales since 2000

Cyprus Property Sale Contracts 2000 – 2020

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
4,482 5,884 43.2% 10,366
2020 (Feb)
662 819 44.7% 1,481
Totals
70,535 159,093 30.7% 229,628

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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2 COMMENTS

  1. How many of these properties have been repossessed by the Banks and are being sold again for 40-60% less than they were bought for in 2006-8 (by gullible foreigners) or even just being transferred to Banks because title deeds are starting to be issued (12+ years down the line, when they were promised in 3-5)? Bank’s get special treatment and don’t have to pay the transfer fees, like the rest of us. Villas with title deeds are “a valuable asset” and eminently more saleable. Sales may be stepping up because villas with deeds are easier to transfer / sell.

  2. Sad to hear that buyers have ‘found’ Famagusta….it means the beginning of the end of natural beauty in this part of the island….

Comments are closed.

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