Should you invest in Cyprus Property when prices are high or low?

Should you invest in Cyprus Property when prices are high or low?

News Saturday, 26 September, 2020

Investing in real estate has been a popular choice for decades and if you have invested in the Cyprus property market in the previous years, you can not be disappointed, even with the slight drop in the demand in 2020 due to the Coronavirus (Covid 19) Pandemic. 

Properties for sale in Cyprus have been in high demand with over 4000 sales in 2019 to non Cypriots. This number has fallen in 2020 due to travel restrictions, lockdowns around the world and fear of the 2020 pandemic, although Cyprus has handled the Covid 19 pandemic better than most countries. Prices have also fallen for certain types of properties in certain locations, but by a much smaller margin than demand. 

With property prices lower in Cyprus and given the island's property market popularity coupled with the likelihood that the coronavirus pandemic will be over for the most part within 2021, would you consider this to be the best time to invest in some property? Buy low and sell high, the advice goes. But often enough, people are tempted to buy in when prices are at their highest and markets are booming. Often enough, casual buyers are late to the game.

Trying to find the bottom of a market is a difficult and complicated and not even pros can time it, most of the time. For the rest of us, is this as good of a time as ever to put some money into real estate in Cyprus?

Below you can find some interesting statistics of how Covid 19 has affected the Cyprus real estate market:

Overseas property sales in decline

By Nigel Howarth
https://www.news.cyprus-property-buyers.com/2020/09/05/overseas-property-sales-decline/id=00160520 

Property sales to the overseas (non-Cypriot) market continued to fall in August with numbers down 18% compared to the numbers sold in August 2019 and down by 41% over the first eight months of 2020 compared to the same period last year according to official statistics.

Sales to the overseas market have been falling month-on-month since June 2019 (with the exception of a small rise in December 2019.)

Sales to the overseas market in August accounted for 35% of the total sold during the month.

Total overseas property sales

The total number of property sales to the overseas market during August stood at 199; a fall of 18% compared to the 244 sales achieved in the same month last year.

But it was not all bad news. Sales rose in Famagusta by 30%, while those in Nicosia rose by 8% compared to sales in August last year.

However, these rises were more than wiped out by falls 39% in Paphos, 18% in Limassol and 10% in Larnaca.

Despite the 39% fall in Paphos, it still remains the most popular destination for foreigners buying property in Cyprus.

Total Overseas Property Sale Contracts – 2019/2020 Comparison

District Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Nicosia 2019 34 30 16 32 45 24 21 13 23 20 21 26
  2020 19 23 15 9 17 11 21 14        
Famagusta 2019 21 29 29 38 42 18 47 17 24 17 35 38
  2020 40 29 25 4 20 13 31 30        
Larnaca 2019 60 43 71 67 90 60 67 40 35 79 53 74
  2020 71 54 50 11 31 38 59 36        
Limassol 2019 85 104 95 137 217 81 109 62 64 84 86 72
  2020 82 89 67 49 39 52 87 51        
Paphos 2019 157 180 157 155 229 136 176 112 139 126 169 151
  2020 113 142 55 51 89 83 87 68        
Totals 2019 357 386 368 429 623 319 420 244 285 326 364 361
  2020 325 337 212 124 196 197 269 199        

During the first eight months of 2020 the sales to the overseas market have fallen 41% compared to the same period last year.

Sales to EU nationals

Sales to the EU segment of the overseas property market in August accounted for 14% of total sales – and the number of sales fell by 24% compared to August 2019.

Although sales in Nicosia (the capital) and Larnaca were up 120% and 31% respectively, they fell in the remaining three districts.

Sales in Paphos fell 45%, Sales in Famagusta fell by 36% and sales in Limassol were down 29% compared to August 2019.

Foreign (EU) Property Sale Contracts – 2019/2020 Comparison

District Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Nicosia 2019 14 14 9 19 20 16 13 5 8 10 15 14
  2020 9 12 9 3 10 7 16 11        
Famagusta 2019 9 6 14 17 10 8 17 14 10 5 9 23
  2020 6 14 10 3 4 9 28 9        
Larnaca 2019 12 12 21 18 20 11 16 13 6 23 14 23
  2020 21 13 11 0 3 6 19 17        
Limassol 2019 16 25 20 21 28 26 27 17 25 30 26 25
  2020 28 30 11 12 14 15 28 12        
Paphos 2019 56 72 61 48 69 59 73 58 61 95 61 72
  2020 40 60 25 24 21 18 44 32        
Totals 2019 107 129 125 123 147 120 146 107 110 133 125 157
  2020 104 129 66 42 52 55 135 81        

During the first eight months of 2020 the sales to the EU segment of the overseas market have fallen 34% compared to the same period last year.

Sales to non-EU nationals

Sales to the non-EU segment of the overseas property market in August accounted for 21% of total sales – and the number of sales fell by 14% compared to August 2019.

Although sales in Famagusta rose by 600% (from a very low base), they fell in the remaining four districts.

Nicosia saw the number of sales fall by 63% and Paphos saw a fall of 33%. Meanwhile, sales in Larnaca and Limassol were down 30% and 13% respectively.

Foreign (Non-EU) Property Sale Contracts – 2019/2020 Comparison

District Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Nicosia 2019 20 17 7 13 25 8 8 8 15 10 6 12
  2020 10 11 6 6 7 4 5 3        
Famagusta 2019 12 23 15 21 32 10 30 3 14 12 26 15
  2020 34 15 15 1 16 4 3 21        
Larnaca 2019 48 31 50 49 70 49 51 27 29 56 39 51
  2020 50 41 39 11 28 32 40 19        
Limassol 2019 69 79 75 116 189 55 82 45 39 54 60 47
  2020 54 59 56 37 25 37 43 39        
Paphos 2019 101 108 96 107 160 77 103 54 78 61 108 79
  2020 73 82 30 27 68 65 43 36        
Totals 2019 250 257 243 306 476 199 274 137 175 193 239 204
  2020 221 208 146 82 144 142 134 118        

During the first eight months of 2020 the sales to the non-EU segment of the overseas market have fallen 44% compared to the same period last year.

Property sales to the domestic (Cypriot) market

Encouraged by the introduction of an interest rate subsidy for new housing loans granted from 1st March 2020 covering loans up to a value of €300,000, sales to the domestic market rose by 5% in August compared to the same month last year.

Although sales in Paphos, Famagusta and Larnaca fell by 69%, 31% and 4% respectively, these were outweighed by a 59% rise in sales in Nicosia and a 6% rise in Limassol. (Nicosia and Limassol are the island’s main business centres.)

Domestic Property Sale Contracts – 2019/2020 Comparison

District Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Nicosia 2019 127 164 115 137 168 121 153 90 114 163 187 154
  2020 178 155 124 29 83 167 230 143        
Famagusta 2019 32 19 16 58 45 25 2 13 16 33 13 26
  2020 10 18 16 6 8 43 29 9        
Larnaca 2019 54 82 47 73 83 42 90 53 67 81 69 88
  2020 76 64 56 13 28 71 72 51        
Limassol 2019 166 152 192 291 329 138 177 134 176 144 210 212
  2020 98 136 76 23 73 150 183 142        
Paphos 2019 30 31 28 69 175 69 54 54 34 66 64 69
  2020 55 29 26 21 31 18 42 17        
Totals 2019 409 448 398 628 800 395 476 344 407 487 543 549
  2020 417 402 298 92 223 449 556 362        

During the first eight months of 2020 the number of sales to the domestic market  has fallen by 28% compared to the same period last year.

Analysis of property sales since 2000

Cyprus Property Sale Contracts 2000 – 2020

Year Overseas Sales Domestic Sales Percentage
Overseas Sales
Total
Sales
2000 450 12,214 3.6% 12,664
2001 1,207 12,849 8.6% 14,056
2002 2,548 14,111 15.3% 16,659
2003 3,981 15,294 20.7% 19,275
2004 5,384 11,947 31.1% 17,331
2005 6,485 10,106 39.1% 16,591
2006 8,355 8,598 49.3% 16,953
2007 11,281 9,964 53.1% 21,245
2008 6,636 8,031 45.2% 14,667
2009 1,761 6,409 21.6% 8,170
2010 2,030 6,568 23.6% 8,598
2011 1,652 5,366 23.5% 7,018
2012 1,476 4,793 23.5% 6,269
2013 1,017 2,750 27.0% 3,767
2014 1,193 3,334 26.4% 4,527
2015 1,349 3,603 27.2% 4,952
2016
1,813 5,250 25.7% 7,063
2017
2,406 6,328 27.5% 8,734
20181 4,367 4,875 47.3% 9,242
2019
4,482 5,884 43.2% 10,366
2020 (Aug)
1,859 2,799 39.9% 4,658
Totals
71,732 161,073 30.8% 232,805

1 The Department of Lands & Surveys has advised that overseas sales in 2018 and subsequent year should not be compared to sales in previous years due to changes in the methodology used to classify ‘Aliens’ (foreigners).

THIS WEBSITE IS USING COOKIES
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue using the site we assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on this site. Please make sure to read our cookies policy.