Property sales improve in March

April 10, 2017

Following February’s fall in property sales, the numbers sold in Cyprus during March compared to March 2016 improved in three of the five districts according to official statistics from the Department of Lands and Surveys.

THE NUMBER of property sales in Cyprus during March rose 16 per cent compared to March 2016 according to official statistics published by the Department of Lands and Surveys. During March a total of 626 contracts for the sale of residential and commercial properties and land (building plots and fields) were deposited at Land Registry offices across Cyprus, compared with the 539 deposited in March 2016. Of those 626 contracts, 440 (70%) were deposited by Cypriot purchasers and 186 (30%) were deposited by overseas purchasers. Although the number of sales contracts in Larnaca and Nicosia fell by 7% and 4% respectively, they rose in the remaining three districts. Paphos lead the way with sales up 53% compared to March 2016, while sales in Famagusta and Limassol were up 21% and 18% respectively.

During the first quarter of 2017, sales contracts have risen 10% compared with the first quarter of 2016. (An unknown number of property sales contracts relate to ‘non-sale’ agreements such as loan restructurings, recoveries and debt-to-asset swaps agreed between the banks and defaulting borrowers. These contracts inflate the total figures above and the domestic sales figures below.)

Domestic property sales Property sales to the domestic (Cypriot) in March rose 15% compared to March 2016 with sales rising in all districts with the exception of Larnaca, where sales remained steady. Paphos lead the way with sales up 39% compared to March 2016, followed by Limassol (+21%), Famagusta (+14% and Nicosia (+1%).  During the first quarter of 2017, domestic have risen 4% compared with the first quarter of 2016 to reach a total of 1,440.

Overseas property sales Property sales to the overseas (non-Cypriot) market during March 2017 rose 18% compared to the same month last year with 186 contracts of sale deposited compared with 157 in March 2016. Although sales in Nicosia and Larnaca fell by 40% and 22% respectively, these falls were more than outweighed by a 78% increase in Paphos, a 33% increase in Famagusta and an 8% increase in Limassol.  During the first quarter of 2017, property sales to the overseas market have risen 32% compared with the first quarter of 2016 to reach a total of 392.

Source: Cyprus Property News