Cyprus property surpasses 2,000 sales in July, €2.70 billion already transferred

Cyprus recorded 2,040 property sale contracts in July, the first month of 2026 to clear the 2,000 mark and an 11.4-per cent increase on the same month last year, according to analysis of Department of Lands and Surveys data by BuySell, Cyprus’s largest property platform. July caps seven consecutive months in which sales have run ahead of 2025. Between January and July, 12,047 contracts were lodged across Cyprus — 1,486 more than the same period last year, a rise of 14.1 per cent. Over the same seven months, completed transfers carried a declared value of €2.70 billion. Seven months, seven gains — July is 2026’s strongest month Every month of 2026 has outrun its 2025 counterpart. The gap has widened as the year has gone on: January opened 10.7 per cent ahead, June closed the half-year 27.2 per cent up, and July added a further 11.4 per cent. July’s 2,040 contracts beat June’s 1,964, itself a record for the month. May was the year’s quietest stretch in relative terms, at 4.8 per cent above May 2025, but still the strongest May on the current run. Every district grew — Limassol adds 655 sales, Paphos matches it on pace Limassol remains the largest market by volume, with 3,959 contracts so far this year, 655 more than in the same seven months of 2025 — growth of 19.8 per cent, and more than a third of all the additional sales recorded across Cyprus. Paphos grew almost as fast, up 19.6 per cent to 2,387. Larnaca added 10.9 per cent to reach 2,599 and Famagusta 10.5 per cent to 538. Nicosia was the slowest of the five at 5.4 per cent, though its 2,564 contracts still place it third by volume. July alone tells a more mixed story. Limassol jumped 20.0 per cent and Paphos 15.5 per cent, but Nicosia was flat — 423 against 422 a year earlier — and Famagusta recorded the only decline anywhere across Cyprus, down 3.2 per cent to 91. €2.70 billion changed hands in seven months — Limassol takes 40 cents of every euro Completed transfers between January and July carried a declared value of €2.70 billion, covering 12,857 properties across 11,522 transactions. June was the strongest month of the year at €541 million; July followed at €468 million. Limassol accounted for €1,084 million, or 40 cents of every euro spent on property across Cyprus. Nicosia followed at €567 million and Paphos at €543 million, ahead of Larnaca (€375 million) and Famagusta (€130 million). Two in three foreign buyers come from outside the EU — and Paphos is 42% foreign Foreign buyers placed 4,980 properties under contract between January and July. 3,293 of those — 66.1 per cent — went to buyers from outside the European Union, against 1,687 from within it. Paphos drew the largest share of that demand with 1,667 properties, ahead of Limassol (1,446) and Larnaca (1,210). Nicosia, the least internationally exposed market, recorded 407. On completed transfers, one in five properties across Cyprus — 20.9 per cent — went to a foreign buyer. The spread between districts is wide: 41.7 per cent in Paphos against 9.0 per cent in Nicosia. Apartment prices climb 10.8%, houses lag at 3.0% The Central Bank of Cyprus Residential Property Price Index rose 7.5 per cent year on year in Q1 2026, the latest quarter published, and 2.3 per cent on the previous quarter. The gap between property types is stark. Apartment prices rose 10.8 per cent over the year, more than three times the 3.0 per cent recorded for houses — a split that tracks the concentration of foreign and investor demand in urban apartment stock. By district, Limassol led at 9.1 per cent, followed by Larnaca (8.9 per cent) and Paphos (6.4 per cent). Nicosia rose 2.8 per cent and Famagusta was unchanged. New housing lending rises 24.5% — nine in 10 borrowers now fix their rate New housing loans reached €353.6 million in the first quarter of 2026, up 24.5 per cent on the €284.1 million lent a year earlier, according to Central Bank of Cyprus figures. Across the whole of 2025, new housing lending totalled €1,338.2 million, 23.1 per cent up on 2024. Pure new lending for house purchase ran at €152.1 million in June 2026, against €145.5 million in May. The average rate on loans for house purchase eased to 4.04 per cent in June from 4.06 per cent the month before. Borrowers have moved decisively away from floating rates. Variable-rate loans accounted for just 10.9 per cent of new housing lending in June 2026 — down from almost 100 per cent at the start of 2022 — meaning close to nine in 10 new mortgages are now written on a fixed rate. About BuySell BuySell (buysellcyprus.com) is Cyprus’ leading property platform, attracting more than 2 million visitors every month and hosting over 150,000 listings for sale across Cyprus. With a market share of more than 80 per cent — confirmed by IMR / University of Nicosia — it is the definitive marketplace for Cypriot real estate and a regular publisher of data-driven analysis of the market. For more information, live market data and more than 150,000 listings, visit: buysellcyprus.com. The BuySell App is available for iPhone and Android.