Experts believe that the return of foreign buyers has contributed to the recovery of the property market. The land registry data show that 31% of property buyers in Cyprus are foreigners.
In December 2016, sales to foreign buyers rose 162% compared with December 2015. The leader was Famagusta – 1400%, (considering the fact that in December 2015 was carried out just one sale), followed by Larnaca, where sales grew by 227%. Sale in Nicosia, Limassol and Larnaca increased by 180%, 172% and 18%, respectively.
According to the latest research of Royal institution of chartered surveyors (RICS), prices on houses and flats in Cyprus in the third quarter of 2016 increased on 0.6% and 0.9%, respectively.
In December 2016 sales grew on121% yoy, this is the steepest annual growth during the last decade.
The largest increase in the number of transactions showed Nicosia and Limassol – 156%, followed by Paphos with 137%, Famagusta with 107% and Larnaca with a modest 18%.
The highest growth in property prices was observed in Paphos, where housing prices rose by 1.77%, in Limassol by 1.4%. At the same time over the same period, utilities fee increased on 0.7% for apartments and 3.3% – for houses QoQ and 5.3% for flats and 6.7% for houses yoy.
