Cyprus home sales continued their strong upward trend during the first quarter of 2026, with the island recording the fastest growth in residential property transactions anywhere in the European Union.
According to the latest Eurostat figures, the number of homes sold in Cyprus increased by 13.6% compared with the first quarter of 2025, placing the country at the top of the EU rankings based on the latest available data.
The latest Cyprus home sales figures underline the resilience of the property market, which continues to support economic activity through construction, finance, professional services and property management.
Cyprus home sales lead a mixed EU property market
Cyprus’ performance contrasts with a mixed picture across the European housing market.
During the first quarter of 2026, residential property transactions declined in nine EU countries. The largest falls were recorded in Croatia (-42.2%), Bulgaria (-18.5%) and Finland (-11.8%).
Sales increased in seven countries, with Cyprus home sales rising by 13.6% to lead the EU, followed by Denmark (+8.4%).
The figures follow varied performances during previous quarters. In the fourth quarter of 2025, home sales fell in Luxembourg (-31.3%), Croatia (-13.7%) and Portugal (-3.6%), while Hungary (+23.5%) and Austria (+20.2%) recorded the strongest growth.
In the third quarter of 2025, Croatia was the only country to register a decline in home sales, while Slovenia (+48.6%) and Hungary (+29.2%) posted the highest increases.
Existing homes continue to drive property transactions
Eurostat’s data also shows that existing homes remain the main driver of property transactions across Europe.
In countries that provided separate data for new-build and existing properties, sales of existing homes comfortably exceeded those of newly built properties. This demonstrates the importance of existing housing stock in meeting buyer demand while highlighting the need for continued residential development.
For new-build homes, Luxembourg (+36.2%) and Hungary (+33.6%) recorded the strongest increases in transactions, while Finland (-22.3%) and Slovenia (-11.6%) saw the largest declines.
Among existing homes, Slovenia (+34.0%) and Lithuania (+23.0%) recorded the highest growth. Declines were limited to Croatia (-7.2%), Bulgaria (-5.0%) and Ireland (-0.4%).
Eurozone housing market recovery continues
Eurostat says housing transactions across the eurozone fell sharply during the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020, reducing the total value of residential property transactions despite rising house prices.
The market rebounded strongly in 2021 and continued to expand during 2022 as house prices climbed further.
In 2023, eurozone house prices slipped by 1.0%, while the total value of residential property transactions fell by 19.2%, largely because of a significant decline in transaction volumes across most member states.
The recovery resumed in 2024, with house prices increasing by 2.2% and the total value of housing transactions rising by 4.2%.
Momentum strengthened again in 2025, when eurozone house prices rose by 5.3% and the total value of residential property transactions increased by 16.5%, reflecting a broad improvement in market activity.