Property sales forging ahead

For the sixth consecutive month property sales in Cyprus reached a 14 year high in June as measured by the number of contracts deposited at Land Registry offices across the Republic.

Property sales refer to sales of domestic dwellings, retail premises, offices, warehouses and land (fields and plots.) The statistics provided by the Department of Lands and Survey do not differentiate between sales of new and sales of resale property.

There are a number of possible reasons why sales are so strong:

• People scrambling to buy property before the surging costs of construction materials are reflected in prices.
• Increasing the VAT ratelevied on sales of new property, which is currently under discussion in Parliament.
• More stringent criteria for UK and other non EU citizenswishing to buy a home and retire to Cyprus. Assuming the changes under discussion are implemented, non-EU citizens will need to buy property costing a minimum of €250,000 – and their annual income will have to be at least €40,000 plus €10,000 for each additional family member.
• The lifting of COVID restrictions encouraging more foreign visitors to Cyprus and Cypriots with more freedom looking for homes.

June property sales

During June, the number of sales reached 1,173; an increase of 27% compared to June 2021.  With numbers rising in all districts with the exception of Famagusta.

The highest number of sales was recorded in Limassol, followed by Nicosia, Larnaca, Paphos and Famagusta.

Sales during the first half of 2022 reached 6,263; a 39% increase on the 4,501 achieved in the same period of 2021 and the highest number on record since 2008.

The Department of Lands & Surveys is expected to publish an analyses of sales to EU Citizens and non-EU Citizens in the coming days. We’ll publish the analyses as soon as they become available.