Cyprus property sales up 18% in July

            Property sales in Cyprus rose 18 per cent in July compared with July 2016 with sales increasing in all districts (with the exception of Larnaca) according to official figures from the Department of Lands and Surveys.  This rise follows a 28% increase in June, a 59% increase in May and a fall of 2% in April. During July a total of 739 contracts for the sale of residential and commercial properties and land (building plots and fields) were deposited at Land Registry offices across Cyprus, compared with the 625 deposited in July 2016. Of those 739 contracts, 488 (66%) were deposited by Cypriot purchasers and 251 (34%) were deposited by overseas purchasers. (This is a sharp rise in the number of overseas purchasers that usually average in the region of 27%). Although the number of sales contracts in Larnaca fell by 16% compared with July 2016, they rose in the remaining four districts. Sales in Famagusta rose 119%, while sales in both Nicosia and Limassol rose 22%, while sales in Paphos rose 20%.