PROPERTY developers and real estate agents in Cyprus are bracing themselves for one of their worst years in history.
With just 558 contracts of sale being deposited at the Land Registry during February, compared to 1581 during February last year, Cyprus property sales have plummeted by an incredible 65%.
During the first two months of this year developers and estate agents managed to sell a mere 1,016 properties, compared to the 3,196 properties they sold during the same period in 2008, 2,940 in 2007 and 2,462 in 2006.
According to real estate agent Elias Danos “The global financial crisis, which has affected the Cyprus economy too, the uncertainty for its depth and the lack of liquidity in the market has made buyers more careful and hesitant.”
“The crisis affects all cities. Sales in Paphos, Larnaca and Famagusta were affected the most due to their dependence on the foreign market. However, neither Limassol nor Nicosia remained unaffected by the developments,” he noted.
Mr. Danos also said that sales have frozen due to expectations that prices will drop and lending rates will be cut.
The real estate agents believe that the government’s measures for the support of the construction and tourist sectors will contribute to the partial recovery of the activity but they cannot specify when this will happen.
