Following successive monthly falls of 80% in April, 71% in May, 10% in June and 8% in July, Cyprus property sales in August fell by 5% according to official figures published by the Department of Lands and Surveys.
During August a total of 561 property sales contracts were deposited at Land Registry offices across the island compared to the 588 deposited in August last year.
But on a positive, the rate of decline is slowing and the number of property sales in Nicosia and Famagusta rose by 52% and 30% respectively.
However, on the negative side, sales in Paphos (the most popular area for foreign buyers) fell 49%, while sales in Larnaca and Limassol fell by 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 | 139 | 38 | 100 | 178 | 251 | 157 | |||||
| Famagusta | 2019 | 53 | 48 | 45 | 96 | 87 | 43 | 49 | 30 | 40 | 50 | 48 | 64 |
| 2020 | 50 | 47 | 41 | 10 | 28 | 56 | 60 | 39 | |||||
| Larnaca | 2019 | 114 | 125 | 118 | 140 | 173 | 102 | 157 | 93 | 102 | 160 | 122 | 162 |
| 2020 | 147 | 118 | 106 | 24 | 59 | 109 | 131 | 87 | |||||
| Limassol | 2019 | 251 | 256 | 287 | 428 | 546 | 219 | 286 | 196 | 240 | 228 | 296 | 284 |
| 2020 | 180 | 225 | 143 | 72 | 112 | 202 | 254 | 193 | |||||
| Paphos | 2019 | 187 | 211 | 185 | 224 | 404 | 205 | 230 | 166 | 173 | 192 | 233 | 220 |
| 2020 | 168 | 171 | 81 | 72 | 120 | 101 | 129 | 85 | |||||
| Totals | 2019 | 766 | 834 | 766 | 1057 | 1423 | 714 | 896 | 588 | 662 | 813 | 907 | 910 |
| 2020 | 742 | 739 | 510 | 216 | 419 | 646 | 825 | 561 |
Total property sales – year to date
In the first eight months of 2020 property sales are down by 34% compared to the same period in 2019, with sales falling in all districts.
Paphos has been hardest hit with sales down 47%, closely followed by Limassol where sales are down 44%. Meanwhile sales in Famagusta and Larnaca are down 27% and 24% respectively – and Nicosia appears to be staging a recovery with year-to-date sales down by just 4%.
In terms of the absolute numbers of property sales, Limassol leads the way with 1,381 sales followed by Nicosia with 1,238, Paphos (927), Larnaca (781) and finally Famagusta with 331.
The Department of Lands and Surveys has yet to publish a breakdown of the figures showing domestic and foreign sales. We’ll bring you the figures as soon as they’re published.
