A significant 28% increase in the value of properties sold during the first half of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, while a 13.6% rise was recorded in the volume of sales, the Real Estate Agents Registration Council says. In a press release, the Council highlights that the real estate market shows resilience and maintains its momentum, despite accumulated challenges. Specifically, it is noted that during the first half of 2023, a total of 12,162 property transactions were completed, amounting to a value of pound 3.2 billion. By comparison, in the corresponding period of the previous year, there were 10,700 property transactions with a total value of nearly pound 2.5 billion. The Council's analysis of the Comparative Sales conducted by the Department of Land and Surveys reveals a significant 28% increase in the value of properties sold during the first half of 2023 compared to 2022, as well as a 13.6% increase in sales volume. Apart from Nicosia district, which experienced a decline in the first quarter of the current year compared to the same period in 2022, all other districts recorded increases in both sales volume and value. The Council points out that substantial increases were recorded in Limassol, Paphos, and Larnaca districts. Specifically, the total value of properties sold during the first half of 2023 in Limassol increased by 38% compared to the same period in 2022, while in Paphos, it rose by 52%. Larnaca also saw a significant increase of 26.4%, and even in Famagusta district, there was a 3.5% rise. On the other hand, the value of property sales in Nicosia district witnessed a decrease of 4.1%. "The data this year clearly outperforms the first half of 2022," said Marinos Kyneyirou, President of the Real Estate Agents Registration Council. He noted that the first half of 2022 was particularly challenging due to ongoing measures applied to deal with the pandemic and the start of the war against Ukraine, leading to uncertainty that held back the market. He also expressed the view that more insightful conclusions could be drawn once the data for the second half of 2023 becomes available. He further noted that the continuous increase in lending rates inevitably impacts the demand for housing loans.
Source: Cyprus News Agency