Apartments outshine houses in booming Larnaca property market

A total of 1,929 apartments and 864 houses were sold during the previous year

Cypriot firm Ask Wire on Wednesday released a report detailing real estate sales, including houses and apartments, in the Larnaca district during 2022 and the first few months of 2023.

“This is a particularly significant representation of the current situation in the city of Larnaca, reflecting the prevailing property market trends,” the company said.

In addition to the number of sales, Ask Wire, which specialises in the blending of real estate knowledge with the use of advanced technology and analytics, also presented the values of all sold properties in the district.

Among the key observations that emerged from the analysis is that the apartment market surpassed the housing market in terms of popularity among Larnaca residents.

As evident from the data, a total of 1,929 apartments and 864 houses were sold during the previous year, showing how many more apartments are being sold in comparison with houses.

“2022 was one of the best years for the real estate sector in Larnaca,” Paulos Loizou, CEO of Ask Wire, stated following the release of the report.

“Analyzing the data of the housing and apartment market, we can see that most properties are purchased for residential purposes by locals,” he added.

Moreover, the Ask Wire CEO explained that “additionally, there is a smaller, compared to, for example, Limassol, luxury housing and apartment market primarily driven by Israelis and Lebanese investors”.

“Based on the available data, it seems that this trend will continue into 2023,” Loizou said.

According to the report, the overwhelming majority of apartments (1,710) sold in the Larnaca district in 2022 were valued below €211,000.

In more detail, 407 apartments were sold below €77,000, a total of 841 apartments were sold between €77,000 and €144,000, and 462 apartments were sold between €144,000 and €211,000.

The number of apartments sold at prices above €211,000 accounts for only 11.3 per cent of the total.

Specifically, 91 apartments were sold with a value of €211,000 to €278,000, another 65 apartments were sold with a value of €278,000 to €345,000, and 63 apartments were sold with a value exceeding €345,000.

In the housing market, buyers’ primary interest is focused on properties valued between €77,000 and €278,000.

Specifically, out of the 864 houses sold in the Larnaca district in 2022, 542 houses, or 62.7 per cent, fall into this category.

In addition to the 109 houses purchased at prices below €77,000, a total of 199 houses were sold between €77,000 and €144,000, and 196 houses were sold between €144,000 and €211,000.

Furthermore, 147 houses were sold between €211,000 and €278,000, another 106 houses were sold between €278,000 and €345,000, and 107 houses were sold with a value exceeding €345,000.

“The data for the first quarter of 2023 reflects the continuation of the market’s current dynamics in Larnaca, as a total of 530 houses and apartments were sold during this time,” the company said, noting that this corresponds to 19 per cent of the total sales of houses and apartments in 2022.

“The trend continues in the same pattern as in previous years, given that the highest interest in apartment purchases is for values up to €211,000 and for houses up to €278,000,” it added.

Finally, regarding houses, the report noted that there has been a significant increase in sales above €345,000.

During the first quarter of 2023, 36 houses with a value above €345,000 were sold, while a total of 107 houses in this price range were sold in the entire year of 2022.