Real-estate sales up 39% in first half, ‘driven mainly by domestic demand’

Real-estate sales in Cyprus rose 39 per cent in the first half of this year over the same period last year as people turn to property as a safe investment in a time of economic uncertainty.

According to figures published by Phileleftheros citing the land registry department, the number of sales documents filed in the first six months totalled 6,263 compared with 4,501 in the same period last year.

The increase in sales was evident in all districts with the largest rise observed in Paphos, where sales documents were up 72 per cent compared with last year, reaching 1,305.

The second largest increase was recorded in Larnaca, which went up 57.8 per cent with sales reaching 1,122, compared with 711 last year.

Limassol continued to hold the top spot in terms of the number of sale with 2,149, an increase over the first six months of last year of 53.9 per cent.

Nicosia was steady with sales almost at the same level as last year, the figures showed, with an increase in sales of 3.1 per cent or 1,378 compared with 1,336 in 2021.

In the Famagusta area sales documents filed increased by 3 per cent to 309, compared to 300 in the first half of 2021.

Sources in the department told the newspaper that the rise in sales was mainly due to domestic demand, saying that people were investing in property due to the inflation crisis on the one hand, and on the other, the expected increase in lending rates from September.

In 2021, the total number of sales documents filed amounted to 10,347 units, compared with 7,968 in 2020. The sources believe that despite the increase in borrowing costs later in the year, 2022 will still be better than last year in terms of overall sales.