THE NUMBER of property sales contracts deposited at Land Registry offices across the Republic of Cyprus during June 2018 rose just 2 per cent compared to June 2017 according to official figures published by the Department of Lands and Surveys. This follows increases of 23% in May, 29% in April and 23% in March and is the smallest increase since February 2017 (when sales fell 9 per cent.)
During June a total of 858 contracts or the sale of residential and commercial properties and land (building plots and fields) were deposited at Land Registry offices across Cyprus, compared with the 843 deposited in June 2017. (The figures include an unspecified number of properties acquired by banks as part of loan restructurings.)
Of those 858 contracts deposited, 385 (44.9%) were for properties purchased by non-Cypriots. While sales in Paphos and Nicosia fell by 23% and 10% respectively, they rose in the remaining three districts. In percentage terms Larnaca led the way with sales rising by 39% followed by Famagusta, where sales rose by 33% and Limassol, where sales rose 11%.
Property sales – year to date During the first half of 2018 the number of contracts for the sale of property deposited at Land Registry offices has risen 24% to 4,470 compared to the 3,610 deposited during the first half of 2017. In terms of the number of properties sold this year Limassol is in pole position with 1,661 sales, followed by Paphos with 1,037, Nicosia with 784, Larnaca 656 and finally Famagusta with 193.
Overseas property sales The Land Registry figures reveal that a total of 385 property sale contracts were deposited by non-Cypriots during June 2018. Of those 126 were deposited by EU citizens and the remaining 259 by non-EU citizens, but we cannot quantify the number of non-EU citizens who bought property with a view to applying for citizenship. Limassol was the most popular district with the overseas market with the number of property sales contracts deposited reaching 131. Paphos recorded 125, Larnaca 72, Famagusta 34 and Nicosia 23. During the first half of 2018, a total of 2,187 property contracts have been deposited by overseas buyers, with 665 deposited by EU nationals and 1,522 by non-EU nationals. Paphos maintains its position as the most popular spot for overseas buyers with sale contracts reaching 849, followed by Limassol with 665, Larnaca with 328, Famagusta with 226 and Nicosia with 119.
Courtesy Cyprus Property News