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28th March 2024
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HomeNewsDifficult start to 2021 as overseas sales fall

Difficult start to 2021 as overseas sales fall

It looks as though 2021 could be a difficult year with a steep fall in property sales to the overseas market in January according to official statistics from the Department of Lands & Surveys.

January saw a fall in sales to the overseas market of 48% compared to the same month last year, with sales falling all districts with the exception of Nicosia (the capital) where sales rose by 16%.

Paphos, the most popular place for British buyers, was hardest hit with sales down 65% compared to January 2020, while sales in Larnaca fell by 62%. Meanwhile sales in Famagusta and Limassol were down 43% and 30% respectively.

The cancellation of the Cyprus ‘Golden Passport‘ scheme in the wake of the Al Jazeera exposé and the COVID pandemic are taking their toll.

We’ve also received reports that some Britons are having difficulties getting loans from Cypriot banks to fund their purchase, possibly as a result of BREXIT as the banks can no longer pursue Brits who default on their loan repayments using ‘EU Enforcement Orders‘.

Total Overseas Property Sale Contracts – 2020/2021 Comparison

District Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Nicosia 2020 19 23 15 9 17 11 21 14 21 37 21 20
2021 22
Famagusta 2020 40 29 25 4 20 13 31 30 29 22 21 38
2021 23
Larnaca 2020 71 54 50 11 31 38 59 36 42 52 31 47
2021 27
Limassol 2020 82 89 67 49 39 52 71 51 80 137 88 59
2021 56
Paphos 2020 113 142 55 51 89 83 87 68 88 118 91 84
2021 40
Totals 2020 325 337 212 124 196 197 269 199 260 366 252 248
2021 168

Overseas sales to EU citizens

Property sales to the EU segment of the overseas property market fell 36% in January compared to January 2020 with only Nicosia improving on the number of sale (up 67%.)

Sales in Larnaca were down 67%, sales in Paphos were down 45% and sales in Limassol and Famagusta were down 36% and 17% respectively.

Foreign (EU) Property Sale Contracts – 2020/2021 Comparison

District Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Nicosia 2020 9 12 9 3 10 7 16 11 14 16 15 17
2021 15
Famagusta 2020 6 14 10 3 4 9 28 9 6 11 12 12
2021 5
Larnaca 2020 21 13 11 0 3 6 19 17 14 14 10 19
2021 7
Limassol 2020 28 30 11 12 14 15 28 12 39 33 28 25
2021 18
Paphos 2020 40 60 25 24 21 18 44 32 49 42 59 54
2021 22
Totals 2020 104 129 66 42 52 55 135 81 122 116 124 127
2021 67

Sales to non-EU citizens

Property sales to the non-EU segment of the overseas property market fell 54% in January compared to the same month last year with sales falling in all districts.

Paphos took the hardest hit once again with sales down 75%. Sales in Larnaca were down 60%, while sales in Famagusta were down 47% and sales in both Nicosia and Limassol were down 30%.

Foreign (Non-EU) Property Sale Contracts – 2020/2021 Comparison

District Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Nicosia 2020 10 11 6 6 7 4 5 3 7 21 6 3
2021 7
Famagusta 2020 34 15 15 1 16 4 3 21 23 11 9 26
2021 18
Larnaca 2020 50 41 39 11 28 32 40 19 28 38 21 28
2021
20
Limassol 2020 54 59 56 37 25 37 43 39 41 104 60 34
2021
38
Paphos 2020 73 82 30 27 68 65 43 36 39 76 32 30
2021
18
Totals 2020 221 208 146 82 144 142 134 118 138 250 128 121
2021
101

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1 COMMENT

  1. The island is a lovely place and has a lovely climate. People will chose to invest and spend time there, BUT…..

    1) The ‘gravy train’ of duping unsuspecting Brits is long over.

    2) The other ‘gravy train’ of cherry picking which bits of E.U legislation they abide by and which they ‘forget’ is also now over.

    So..it’s ‘grow up’ time Cyprus. Like anywhere in the world, if you behave consistently as decently – you’ll attract and retain investment. If you behave like bums – you won’t.

    Your call peeps…

Comments are closed.

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