Regional difficulties and instability in the global market have not affected the demand for property in Cyprus by foreign investors.
This is evidenced by the data on residential property sales over the last two years.
According to the statistics, foreign nationals, both from the EU and third countries, accounted for around 50 per cent of all transactions concluded in 2023-2024. According to local experts, this shows confidence in the Cypriot market. It also suggests that without foreign investors, the figures would have been very different.
Interestingly, foreign buyers did not limit themselves to real estate investments, but expanded their presence in retail, foreign exchange and technology companies, as well as a number of other sectors, contributing significantly to the growth of the Cypriot economy.
It is worth noting that the figures for 2024 were roughly the same as those for 2023 in terms of turnover (+1%), a sign of the market's resilience to the challenges that arose. These included both domestic challenges such as inflation and high interest rates, and external factors such as the ongoing wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, and fluctuations in oil and natural gas prices.
The main foreign nationals most likely to have invested in property in Cyprus in 2024 were Israelis, Lebanese, Russians and Ukrainians.
The high level of interest from citizens of these countries brought Larnaca into third place for the first time in terms of sales volume (3,350 sales, up 5%), allowing it to overtake Paphos. However, Limassol remains the undisputed leader.
Turning to the other side of the sales equation, namely local buyers, 2024 has shown that a significant proportion of Cypriot investors still have the capacity to support the market. This is evidenced by the significant increase in property sales to Cypriots in the capital, with 3,500 transactions, and Nicosia remains the leading destination for property purchases by locals.
The biggest drop in sales in 2024 was recorded in Paphos, which lost third place to Larnaca. There were 3,100 contracts signed in the city, which is 8% less than in 2023. However, it should be noted that the city offers more expensive properties than Larnaca, so the total amount of sales was higher. In the vacant areas of Famagusta, a decrease of 5% was recorded in 2024, which is insignificant considering the low number of sales.
The head of the Association of Property Valuers, Polis Kourousides, said that the Cyprus property market had shown considerable resilience in 2024, attracting interest from local and foreign buyers despite regional and international instability.
Kourousides is optimistic about the outlook for 2025, noting that the residential sector should continue on an upward trajectory, driven by both foreign and Cypriot buyers, provided there is no further major disruption to the economy as a whole.
We also expect mortgage rates to fall in 2025, which will make it even easier for our citizens to buy property," Kourousidis added.