New mortgage loans were high for the third consecutive year although the pace was lower in 2018. It seems that the market has started to relax and individuals resort to loans through mortgaging. 2017 was the year with the highest number of mortgages, and this has been a steady trend since 2016.
New mortgages in 2018 were 15.7% lower than in 2016 but 31.4% higher than in 2015, while compared to four years ago (2014) their value in 2018 tripled with an increase of 156%. In 2014, the value of new mortgages was just €1.2 billion, while in 2015 this was €2.4 billion. The upward trend continued also in 2016, with the value of new mortgages exceeding € 3.7 billion.
More specifically, new mortgages in 2018 amounted to €3.1 billion and concerned 16,215 cases. It is noted that the value of mortgages in 2018 is down by 15.5% compared with 2017 when the value was €3.7 billion for 16,804 cases. Limassol is at the top as regards the total value of new mortgages. Mortgages amounting to €999 million were recorded in Limassol in 2018, followed by Nicosia with a total of € 985 million.
2018 mortgages are broken down as follows: Nicosia 6.128 Mortgages worth €985.3 million, Famagusta 995 Mortgages worth € 383 million, Larnaca 2,641 Mortgages worth € 341.1 million, Paphos 2,039 Mortgages worth € 422.7 million, and Limassol 4,412 mortgages worth € 999 million.
The biggest decline in new mortgages in 2018 compared to the year before was recorded in Nicosia followed closely by Paphos and Limassol. For the twelve months of 2018, the value of new mortgages declined in Nicosia by 20%, 18% in Paphos and 17% in Limassol. Lower declines were in Famagusta (-2%) and Larnaca (-4.4%).
As regards real estate property transfers, the number in 2018 tripled compared to 2013. Data from the Land and Surveys Department shows that there were 18,338 real estate property transfers in 2018 compared to 8.609 in 2013. The total value as declared was € 3.3 million whereas the accepted value was € 3.6 million. In 2017, 16,842 properties were transferred (with the total number of cases being 14,212). The total amount declared was € 3.7 million whereas the accepted value was € 4 million. In 2016, the number of transfers was 16.110, with total number of cases standing at 13.543. The total amount declared was € 3.7 million while the accepted value was 3.9 million.
By Demetra Landou
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50,000 mortgages transferred to Hellenic Bank
The Land and Surveys Department said that it had completed the transfer of some 50,000 mortgages from the Cyprus Co-op Bank to Hellenic Bank on Monday.
It said the transfer was achieved through its Land Information System, avoiding a considerable amount of paperwork and in full compliance with the law on land transfers and mortgages.
The department thanked personnel and the IT unit of the Interior Ministry as well as the IT personnel of Hellenic Bank and the CCB, saying that as a result of their flawless cooperation they had completed a huge, technically difficult project, the planning of which had only started at the beginning of August.
