Property sales in Cyprus fell by 8% in July compared to July 2019 according to official figures from the Department of Lands and Surveys.
During July a total of 825 property sales contracts were deposited at Land Registry offices across the island compared to the 896 deposited in July last year. However, considering there was an 80% fall in April, a 71% fall in May and a 10% fall in June, the figures are encouraging given the on-going COVID-19 situation.
Although property sales in Nicosia and Famagusta rose by 44% and 22% respectively, these increases were more than wiped out by falls in sales in Paphos (-44%), Larnaca (-17%) and Limassol (-11%).
(In a move to help the real estate market recover, the government introduced an interest rate subsidy for new housing loans granted from 1st March 2020 until 31st December 2020. The scheme covers loans with a maximum value of €300,000 with a maximum interest rate of 2.30% and will cover 1.5% of the rate for a period of four years.)
Total property sales – year to date
In the first seven months of 2020 property sales are down by 37% compared to the same period in 2019, with sales falling in all districts.
Sales in Paphos have fallen by 49%, closely followed by Limassol, where sales are down 48%. Meanwhile, sales in Famagusta, Larnaca and Nicosia have fallen 31%, 25% and 9% respectively.
In terms of the absolute numbers of property sales, Limassol leads the way with 1,188 sales followed by Nicosia with 1,081 sales, Paphos (842 sales), Larnaca (694 sales) and finally Famagusta with 292 sales.
Author: Nigel Howarth
Source: news.cyprus-property-buyers.com
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