Slip slidin’ away: cyprus property sales down 50pc

Property sales on the island dropped 51 per cent in June 2013 compared to June 2012, the Department of Lands and Surveys revealed, with numbers falling across the country.

The figures are the latest in a string of blows for Cypriot real estate, as the island’s rising unemployment, unstable economy, controversial bank decisions and high interest rates make it exceedingly difficult for the market to recover from a serious crash.

543 contracts of sale were deposited at the Department of Lands and Surveys in June 2012. This year? 267.

Indeed, transactions took a dive in every district, led by Nicosia, where sales fell 60 per cent, and Larnaca, where deals dipped 55 per cent. Even tourist and buyer favourite Paphos could not escape, with sales falling 44 per cent.

The annual decline is true on a long-term basis as well: sales may have dipped 51 per cent in June, but across the first six months of 2013, the picture is equally grim, with transactions in the first half of the year dropping 52 per cent.

Property valuator Polys Kourousides told Cyprus Property News:  “People expect the situation in the banking system to be stabilized in order to make movements... the only solution for the industry’s recovery is to offer incentives to foreign investors.”

Antonis Loizou FRICS added that while Chinese investment boomed between October 2012 and April 2013, Eurozone deliberations and overpricing from some developers had slowed down eager buyers.

Mr Loizou added: “Developers should be very careful because the Chinese market is the only market left and we should not think that we can exploit them because there are other countries that offer similar incentives.”