Property sales across Cyprus rose for the sixteenth consecutive month in August, new figures show.
The latest official figures published by the Department of Lands and Surveys reveals that 653 property sales contracts were deposited at Land Registry offices across Cyprus in August. This compares favourably with the 572 sales contracts deposited in the same month last year.
Purchases made by overseas buyers accounted for 41.5 per cent of the total sales. Paphos remained the most popular district for non-Cypriot buyers, with 108 properties in the district bought by overseas buyers last month. Limassol was the next most popular (88), followed by Larnaca (36), Famagusta (21) and Nicosia (7).
The majority of overseas purchases were made by people from outside of the EU – 167 compared to 104 EU buyers. This suggests government schemes devised to encourage investment from outside the European Union, such as the citizenship by investment scheme are being successful.
Indeed, since the start of the year, a total of 2,884 homes in Cyprus have been snapped by overseas buyers, with only 919 of these purchased by EU nationals. This means 1,965 properties across the country have been bought by non-EU nationals.
While Paphos is the most popular spot for overseas buyers overall there is a difference in preference between EU and non-EU purchasers. Limassol edges out Paphos as the most popular place for non-EU citizens, while Paphos is favoured by the vast majority of EU citizens.
Article published 5th September 2018