Bank of Cyprus’ Real Estate Management Unit (REMU) completed sales of foreclosed properties with a total value of €26 million in the first half of 2026. At the same time, another group of properties with a total value of €40 million was at an advanced stage of the sales process as of June 30, 2026.
For comparison, in the first half of 2025, REMU sold properties worth €211 million. Profit from sales in January–June 2026 amounted to approximately €6 million, compared with €8 million in the same period last year.
Bank of Cyprus’ financial statements note that REMU is primarily responsible for the disposal of properties acquired through debt-for-property swap agreements, as well as other repossessed assets. Since the beginning of 2019, total sales of repossessed properties have reached approximately €1.4 billion, while over the same period REMU acquired assets worth around €0.5 billion.
221 Properties Sold in the First Half of the Year
During the first six months of 2026, REMU signed sale agreements for 221 properties with a total contract value of €34 million. A year earlier, the figures were significantly higher in terms of value: in the first half of 2025, agreements were signed for 189 properties worth €227 million.
Sales covered various property categories, although land plots accounted for more than half of the assets sold in gross value terms. As of June 30, 2026, REMU was also at an advanced stage of preparing property transactions with a contract value of €40 million. Of this amount, €13 million related to sale agreements that had already been signed.
For comparison, a year earlier, transactions worth €34 million were at a similar stage, of which €19 million represented signed sale agreements. At the same time, in the first half of 2026, the unit acquired just €1 million in new assets through debt-for-property swaps and repossessions. In the same period of 2025, such acquisitions amounted to €8 million.
REMU Manages €341 Million in Real Estate
As of June 30, 2026, the carrying value of properties managed by REMU stood at €341 million. This was down from €362 million as of March 31, 2026, and €442 million as of June 30, 2025. The majority of the assets were located in Cyprus, accounting for €324 million, while another €17 million related to properties in Greece. The Cyprus portfolio consists predominantly of land. As of June 30, 2026, it comprised:
- land plots — €202 million;
- offices and other commercial properties — €46 million;
- residential properties — €32 million;
- golf courses and related properties — €31 million;
- manufacturing and industrial properties — €12 million.
In Greece, REMU managed industrial and manufacturing properties worth €6 million, offices and other commercial properties worth €5 million, residential properties worth €4 million and land worth €2 million.
What This Means for the Cyprus Real Estate Market
The reduction in REMU’s portfolio reflects the continued disposal of distressed and repossessed assets in the Cyprus property market. Land plays a particularly significant role in this process, remaining the largest category in Bank of Cyprus’ portfolio. At the same time, the sharp decline in completed sales — from €211 million in the first half of 2025 to €26 million in the first half of 2026 — shows that current transactions differ significantly in scale. Meanwhile, the €40 million worth of properties at an advanced stage of the sales process indicates the potential for transaction volumes to increase in the second half of the year.