01.07.2021
The year 2020 was marked by a drop in demand for property in Cyprus due to the abandonment of the Citizenship by Investment (also known as the Golden Passport) scheme in November. The number of real estate transactions in December fell by 19% compared to December 2019.
During the month, a total of 737 sales contracts were registered at land registry offices across the island, up from 910 during the same period in 2019, according to the Department of Land and Geodesy.
The entire island was affected by the drop in demand, with several areas favored by foreign investors hit hardest – Paphos, where the percentage of transactions fell by 33%, and Limassol, which lost 24%. In Larnaca, the fall was 19%, and in Famagusta and Nicosia – 2%.
Annual property sales
The total number of real estate transactions fell by 23% in 2020 compared to 2019, with Nicosia being the only area seeing an increase in sales (by 3%).
Paphos bears the main losses – sales fell by 41%, followed by Limassol – 29%, in Larnaca and Famagusta there is also a drop – 17% and 11%, respectively.
At the end of 2020, Limassol leads in the number of transactions (2480), followed by Nicosia (2054), Paphos (1554), Larnaca (1296) and completes the list of Famagusta (584).
The Department of Lands and Geodesy has not yet published data on sales in the domestic and foreign markets.
