The price of apartments in Limassol rose an annual 8.7%, according to the Central Bank’s latest residential property index, posted on its website on Tuesday.
This was noticeably higher than the more moderate increase recorded in the rest of Cyprus, it said in the residential property index for the third quarter of 2018.
“The increase in the price of apartments is accelerating while for houses the increase is smaller,” it said, adding that the coastal areas of Limassol are particularly affected.
It added that the sale of luxury residences as part of the passport scheme are not financed by the domestic banking sector, and as such are not included in its index which is based on data supplied by the banks.
“Nevertheless, these sales appear to have an indirect but important effect on specific areas of Limassol district to which the accelerating increase in the price of apartments can also be attributed. A further indication of this momentum is the large increase in rents in Limassol which according to data of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Cyprus have risen significantly in the past two years,” it added.
More recently, real estate prices in Paphos and Famagusta districts have also shown a noticeably recovery which are also influenced by demand for real estate from abroad. In contrast Nicosia has seen more moderate increases and does not appear to be much affected by foreign demand.
The Central Bank’s residential property price index (houses and apartments) registered a quarterly increase of 0.3% in the third quarter of 2018. House prices appeared to stabilise on a quarterly basis while apartment prices recorded an increase of 1.2%. On an annual basis, house prices rose by 1.6% in the third quarter of 2018 compared to the 1.4% annual increase recorded in the third quarter of 2017. On an annual basis, in the third quarter of 2018, houses were up 0.8% and flats 3.0% respectively
The Central Bank said the continued recovery in the property sector was supported both by foreign investments as well as new, viable domestic borrowing. In addition, demand for real estate and construction activity continued their recovery, it said.
On a quarterly basis, the residential property price index was up in Limassol, Larnaca and Famagusta, but down marginally in Paphos. Houses in Limassol were up 1.4%, in Famagusta 1.3% and in Larnaca 0.3%. In Nicosia there were stable and in Paphos down 0.8%. On an annual basis all districts recorded increases – Famagusta 4.1%, Limassol 3.6%, Larnaca 1.6%, Nicosia 0.7% and Paphos 0.1%.
As regards houses, Famagusta and Limassol saw quarterly increases of 0.9% and 0.7% respectively. Nicosia and Larnaca edged down 0.1% while Paphos saw a 1.7% drop. On annual basis houses prices rose in all districts except Paphos which recorded a 2% drop. In Famagusta house prices rose by 4.5%, in Limassol by 1.6%, in Larnaca by 1.1% and in Nicosia by 0.5%.
The price of apartments was up on a quarterly basis in all districts — Famagusta by 3%, Limassol by 2.9%, Larnaca by 2.2%, Paphos by 0.6% and Nicosia by 0.1%.
The same held for apartment prices on an annual basis, with Limassol recording an 8.7% jump. Paphos was up 5.2%, Famagusta by 5%, Larnaca by 2.7% and Nicosia by 1.2%.
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https://in-cyprus.com/property-sales-double-in-five-years/
