Buyers Shift Focus to Apartments in Cyprus, Says Real Estate Council
Rising Costs and Limited Financing Drive Demand for Apartments Over Houses
The interest of buyers has increasingly shifted toward the acquisition of apartments, according to a statement released by the Real Estate Registration Council, regarding the average property values for the second quarter of 2024.
The analysis of the data in the Council's quarterly "Real Estate Market Bulletin" focuses on four main property categories—apartments, houses, plots, and fields—and aims to present the average value of completed sales in each district, as well as the number of transactions.
It is clarified that the data on average prices do not solely concern sales in the urban centers of Cyprus's free regions but are derived from all sales within the geographical boundaries of each district.
Specifically, regarding apartments, it was reported that in the second quarter of 2024, a total of 489 apartment transactions were recorded across Cyprus. The majority of these sales occurred in the Nicosia district, while the highest average apartment value was noted in the Limassol district (€246,919), significantly higher than the average value of apartments transferred in other districts of free Cyprus. According to the data, the average apartment value in Nicosia was €134,031, in Larnaca €133,058, in Paphos €122,846, and in the free Famagusta district €109,804.
Regarding the housing market, 110 transactions were included in the Comparative Sales for the period from April to June 2024 across all districts of free Cyprus, except for Nicosia, where sufficient data were unavailable at the time of the report.
It was noted that Larnaca lagged in this property category, being surpassed in sales by the free Famagusta district. The average value of the 31 transactions in the Paphos district was €398,857, slightly lower than the €362,429 average value of the 24 sales recorded in Limassol at that time. The average value of the 35 sales in the free Famagusta district was €273,028, while in Larnaca, it was €205,035. It is important to note that these figures represent property transfers across the entire district, including rural communities, not just urban centers.
Nicosia led in plot sales, based on the sample of transfers from the Comparative Sales for the second quarter, accounting for 273 out of the 666 transactions completed across Cyprus. The highest average values were recorded in the Paphos (€265,884) and Limassol (€260,613) districts, followed by Nicosia with an average value of €198,737, Larnaca with €173,220, and the free Famagusta district with €151,103. It is also noted that many plots may have a considerable area or include buildings, which contributes to the higher recorded values.
Finally, the Council notes that the Nicosia (435) and Limassol (417) districts together account for the majority (852) of the 1,501 transactions completed nationwide in the first quarter. In terms of average values, fields were most expensive in the Paphos district (€170,873) and cheapest in the Larnaca district (€96,255). In the other three districts, the average values of fields were €144,359 in the free Famagusta district, €135,392 in Limassol, and €104,752 in Nicosia. It is clarified that some properties registered as fields may include buildings.