It is safe to say that the Cyprus economy showed resilience against the odds last year, despite concerns about the impact from the pandemic and war in Ukraine. And its real estate sector was no exception.
According to the Danos Cyprus Real Estate Market Report for the 2nd Semester of 2022, the property market has shown such resilience that last year it had its best performance since 2008.
Paphos recorded the highest increase in sales documents, followed by Larnaca then Limassol and Famagusta.
“The Cypriot real estate market is showing a significant recovery despite the uncertainty in the economic environment triggered by the energy crisis, with investors from Europe but also Arab countries including Cyprus in their investment framework,” says the report. “The first eleven months of 2022 were the best for the sector since 2008, according to Land Registry figures.”
According to the data, sales documents for 12,074 units were filed with the land registry offices by the eleventh month of 2022, compared with 9,063 the previous year (up 33%). This is the best eleven-month period since 2008, when sales reached 14,043 units.
There was a steep 66.7% increase in the number of sales documents issued to foreigners (to 5,283 from 3,169 in 2021), while sales to locals increased by 15.2% to 6,791, from 5,894 in 2021.
Compared to the eleventh month of 2019, real estate sales have increased 27.7%.
Paphos recorded the highest increase of 66.2%, with sales documents amounting to 2,614, from 1,573 in 2021. It was followed by Larnaca, where sales increased by 47.3%, reaching 2,172 from 1,475. Property sales in Limassol rose 44.4% and 0.3% in Famagusta.
Overall, the Danos report is pleased with the economy’s performance in 2022. “The Cypriot economy proved to be resilient in 2022, despite the many challenges posed on a global scale, which include successive years of supply-chain disruptions and suppressed economic activity caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, followed by the devastating war in Ukraine, which resulted in soaring inflation and high energy prices,” the report said. “Amidst this turbulent environment, Cyprus managed to record the eighth-highest level of growth among European Union member states during the current year.”
Of course, Cyprus wasn’t completely unscathed, with inflation rising alongside the rest of the world and having a severe impact on the more vulnerable groups of the population. And as the report points out, all this while state coffers filled up, boosted by both the elevated performance of certain economic sectors and tax revenue from the price hikes.
“The economy of Cyprus expanded 4.6% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2022, following a 5.5% rise in the previous period, flash estimates showed. It marks the seventh consecutive quarter of growth since the contraction Q1 2021, mainly supported by hotels & restaurants, transport & storage, information & communication, wholesale & retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and arts, entertainment & recreation. On a quarterly basis, GDP advanced 1.1% compared to a 1.3% growth in the previous period.”
