Cyprus property sales plummet

Transactions fell by almost 50 per cent in the first eight months of 2013, the Department of Lands and Surveys revealed: between January and August 2013, just 2,399 sales were submitted to district offices, 46 per cent lower than the number recoded in the same period last year.

Famagusta suffered the biggest decline, reports the Famagusta Gazette, with sales plummeting by 65 per cent year-on-year: only 431 sales were recorded. It was closely followed by a 61 per cent decline in Nicosia, then a 48 per cent dip in Limassol and a 47 per cent drop in Larnaca.

Tourist and overseas buyer favourite Paphos remained the strongest market on the struggling island, but even its international reputation and lifestyle appeal could not halt a similar drop: sales fell 15 per cent in the district, bolstered somewhat by a very strong performance in February, when transactions jumped 86 per cent.

Indeed, at a time when Cyprus is depending on overseas investors to support its housing market, much like many other eurozone destinations, foreign sales fell significantly. Deals with non-resident nationals dropped 30.74 per cent in the first eight months of the year.

The Department of Land and Surveys’ figures do offer a modicum of hope, though, with an upward trend recorded between the months of April and June 2013 thanks to a rising number of registrations for development programmes. Whether this trend shall continue is yet to be seen.

“In statements he made to CNA Deputy Director of the Department Vasos Petrides expressed optimism that the upward trend will continue in the next quarter,” added the Gazette.