The property market on the island remains buoyant with even high-end property sales continuing to rise, statistics released by Sotheby’s International Realty real estate agency show.
In the first six months of 2023, there were a total of 1,757 high end property transactions, accounting for 27 per cent of all property sales. In terms of value, high end property sales amounted to €936.2 million in the first six months of the year.
High-end apartment sales far outstripped high-end house sales. There were a total of 1,419 high-end apartment sales, compared to just 338 high-end house sales, accounting for €621.8 million and €314.4 million respectively.
High end refers to houses worth over €500,000 or apartments worth over €200,000.
Sotheby’s Cyprus CEO Anastasia Yianni said one of the “key drivers” behind increased property sales in Cyprus is the permanent residency through investment programme, through which a person is required to invest in a property valued at a minimum of €300,000 plus VAT.
Other drivers, Yianni said, include Cyprus’ “attractive lifestyle”, its taxation system, and the fact that Cypriot property is viewed as a “stable investment”.
She also added that the Ukraine war has also driven citizens of Russia, Ukraine, and also central Europe to buy property in Cyprus, with the latter persuaded to do so by the rising cost of living on the continent.
Overall, a total of 7,689 property sales contracts were signed, compared to 6,263 over the same period in 2022. This amounted to €1.7 billion of total sales.
Of the properties sold in the first six months of the year, 46.5 per cent were bought by overseas buyers.
Russian citizens account for a large proportion of all non-EU property buyers, with other non-EU countries providing large numbers of property buyers in Cyprus including Israel, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.
The top EU citizens buying property were from Germany, Austria, Poland, and Greece.
As for the second half of the year, Yianni said “we believe demand will be quite stable”.
“Certain countries of origin may see their numbers reduce over the second half of the year, while others will increase. We are expecting more buyers from Israel over the coming months, while a reduction in Russian buyers is on the cards as sanctions take their effect,” she said.
However, she said the two will compensate each other.