Property sales in Cyprus rose 18 per cent in Octobercompared with the same month in 2016with sales increasing in all districts (with the exception of Larnaca)according to official figures from the Department of Lands and Surveys.
Filed under THE NUMBER of property sales during October rose18 per cent compared to October 2016 according to official statistics publishedby the Department of Lands and Surveys earlier today. This rise follows a riseof 8% in September, a 27% rise in August and an 18% rise in July. DuringOctober a total of 768 contracts for the sale of residential and commercialproperties and land (building plots and fields) were deposited at Land Registryoffices across Cyprus, compared with the 634 deposited in October 2016.Although sales remained steady in Larnaca, they rose in all other districts.Nicosia led the way with sales up by 46% and was closely followed by Paphos,where sales rose by 45%. Meanwhile sales in Limassol and Famagusta rose by 9%respectively.
In January to October the number of contracts for the saleof property deposited at Land Registry offices has risen 19% to 6,291 comparedto the same period last year. Although sales in Larnaca have fallen by 8%, theyhave improved significantly in the other districts. Sales in both Limassol andPaphos have risen by 27%, while sales in both Nicosia and Famagusta have risenby 23%. Property sales have been encouraged by the reduction in PropertyTransfer Fees, the abolition of Immovable Property Tax. Non-EU citizens wishingto obtain residency or a Cypriot passport are taking advantage of twogovernment schemes. (The figures above include ‘non-sale’ agreements such asloan restructurings, recoveries and debt-to-asset swaps agreed between thebanks and defaulting borrowers.)