According to official information from the Land Department, in the first three months of 2025, more people from other countries wanted to buy property in Cyprus.
From January to March, a total of 3,921 sales were made on the island, with 1,671 of these being purchased by foreigners — 15.2% more than in the same period in 2024.
For comparison, in the first three months of 2024, people from other countries bought 1,451 properties in Cyprus, with a total of 3,597 transactions. The number of properties bought by people from Cyprus went up by 14.9%, from 2,146 to 2,466. Experts said that more people from other countries wanting to buy property could mean that it becomes more expensive and that Cypriots can't afford to buy as many houses. This issue has already been discussed in Parliament, and ideas for new laws have been suggested. However, many people in the construction industry are against restrictions, as they are afraid that they will lose money.
Let's take a closer look at the cities of Cyprus:
- Paphos is still the leader in terms of the number of transactions with buyers from outside the EU. In the first three months of 2025, 370 contracts were signed with people from other countries. This is 2.8% more than the 360 contracts signed in the same period last year. More and more EU citizens are also interested in buying property in Paphos. From January to March 2025, this group was involved in 195 transactions, compared to 126 in 2024 (+54.8%).
- In Limassol, there is still interest from both categories. In the first three months of 2025, sales to EU citizens in this city went up from 108 to 125 (+15.7%). People from outside the EU bought 347 properties, compared to 305 last year (an increase of 13.8%).
- Larnaca also grew. EU citizens bought 100 properties compared to 79 in 2024 (+26.6%), while buyers from outside the EU bought 301 (250 in 2024, +20.4%).
- In the free areas of Famagusta, the number of transactions among EU citizens grew the most in the first three months of 2025: it went up from 35 to 52 (+48.6%). At the same time, there was less interest from people from other countries. The number of transactions fell from 47 to 37 (-21.3%).
- Nicosia is still the least attractive place for foreigners. From January to March 2025, EU citizens bought 66 properties in the capital city of Cyprus, compared to 70 a year earlier. The decline was 5.7%. Third-country nationals completed 78 purchase and sale transactions, compared to 71 in the first three months of 2024 (+9.9%).
Demand is growing steadily. Because of this, the authorities are thinking about ways to protect local buyers. These could include tax incentives or restrictions on foreign buyers buying property in certain areas. Decisions on these issues are expected in the next few months.