FURTHER analysis of the figures released last week by the Department of Lands and Surveys for the number of property sale contracts deposited at Land Registries across the island show a 22% increase in sales by Cypriot buyers in December 2011 compared with the same month last year.
Domestic sales in Paphos in December shot up by an astonishing 343% compared with December 2010, followed by a 52% increase in Famagusta. Sales also went up in Nicosia by 1%, but they fell in Larnaca and Limassol by 22% and 1% respectively
This surge in the number of contracts at the end of last year may be attributable to the recent legislation passed by the government; a permanent reduction in VAT on property purchases for first-time buyers who are permanent residents in Cyprus and the temporary abolishment/reduction in Property Transfer Fees on the first sale of a residential dwelling.
