Cyprus ended the year with property sales falling by 19 per cent in December compared with December 2019 following the abandonment of the Citizen-by-Investment (aka Golden Passport) Scheme in early November.
During the month a total of 737 contracts for the sale of property were deposited at Land Registry offices across the island compared to 910 in December 2019 according to the Department of Lands and Surveys.
Sales fell in all districts with the hardest hit being the two districts most popular with overseas investors; Paphos, where sales fell 33% and Limassol, where they fell by 24%. Meanwhile, sales in Larnaca fell by 19% and sales in both Famagusta and Nicosia fell by 2%.
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 | 195 | 227 | 217 | 177 | |
Famagusta | 2019 | 53 | 48 | 45 | 96 | 87 | 43 | 49 | 30 | 40 | 50 | 48 | 64 |
2020 | 50 | 47 | 41 | 10 | 28 | 56 | 60 | 39 | 59 | 80 | 51 | 63 | |
Larnaca | 2019 | 114 | 125 | 118 | 140 | 173 | 102 | 157 | 93 | 102 | 160 | 122 | 162 |
2020 | 147 | 118 | 106 | 24 | 59 | 109 | 131 | 87 | 117 | 153 | 113 | 132 | |
Limassol | 2019 | 251 | 256 | 287 | 428 | 546 | 219 | 286 | 196 | 240 | 228 | 296 | 284 |
2020 | 180 | 225 | 143 | 72 | 112 | 202 | 254 | 193 | 253 | 402 | 227 | 217 | |
Paphos | 2019 | 187 | 211 | 185 | 224 | 404 | 205 | 230 | 166 | 173 | 192 | 233 | 220 |
2020 | 168 | 171 | 81 | 72 | 120 | 101 | 129 | 85 | 162 | 202 | 115 | 148 | |
Totals | 2019 | 766 | 834 | 766 | 1057 | 1423 | 714 | 896 | 588 | 662 | 813 | 907 | 910 |
2020 | 742 | 739 | 510 | 216 | 419 | 646 | 825 | 561 | 786 | 1,064 | 723 | 737 |
Annual property sales
The total number of property sales in 2020 fell 23% compared to 2019 with Nicosia being the only district where sales actually rose (by 3%.)
Sales in Paphos fell 41% and sales in Limassol fell 29%, while sales in Larnaca and Famagusta fell by 17% and 11% respectively.
During 2020, Limassol reported the highest number of property sales (2480) followed by Nicosia (2054), Paphos (1554), Larnaca (1296) and finally Famagusta (584).
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.