The presentation took place during an event titled, “Evolving landscape and the need for new policies and reforms,” which was held on Thursday, February 29, 2024, at PwC’s Experience Centre in Nicosia. Minister of Interior Constantinos Ioannou was in attendance and delivered a presentation on the recently introduced housing policy, as well as other policies and reforms that are currently being considered. Following the presentation of the annual report’s key findings, a panel discussion ensued with the participation of Miltos Michaelas, CEO of Alpha Bank Cyprus, Yiannis Misirlis, Chairman of the Cyprus Land and Building Developers Association, and Dmitry Letov, Construction General Manager at Exness. The panel discussion was moderated by Constantinos Savvides, Director of Deals, Real Estate Advisory Services at PwC Cyprus.

PwC’s thorough analysis indicates that the Cypriot real estate market demonstrated remarkable resilience and flexibility during 2023. The total value of transactions reached €5.5 billion, which appears to be at the same levels as in 2022. According to the report, in the Larnaca district, transactions saw a notable 22 per cent increase in transaction value, while the Paphos district recorded a 4 per cent year-on-year increase. This growth in both districts seems to have compensated for the reduced transaction activity observed in the Limassol district.

In 2023, the transaction value of the residential property sector reached approximately €3.9 billion, marking a 1 per cent decrease compared to 2022. Out of a total of 14,600 transactions, 9,600 were related to apartment sales, and 5,000 were related to houses. The residential property sector constituted 69 per cent (compared to 70 per cent in 2022) of the total value of transactions across the sector. The sector’s performance was driven by increased activity in the land segment, with land transactions showing an annual increase of 11 per cent (2023: €1.3 billion).

Foreign buyers acquired a total of 6,900 properties across Cyprus in 2023, reflecting a 16 per cent annual increase (2022: 5,928). This increase aligns with the ongoing trend of foreign entities relocating their headquarters and staff to Cyprus. The data indicates that the number of properties acquired by foreigners exceeded each respective month of 2022, except for November and December 2023, which experienced decreases of 16 per cent and 18 per cent, respectively. These declines appear to be largely attributable to the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in early October.

The high-end residential property segment witnessed a notable drop in 2023. Analysis of transaction data for single residential properties with a price of €1.5 million or more indicates a decrease of 26 per cent compared to 2022. During 2023, a total of 164 transactions were recorded in this segment, with the total value reaching €440 million. The contribution of this segment to the total value of transactions stood at merely 8 per cent. “The real estate sector in Cyprus is expected to play a significant role in the new economic model of our country, as encapsulated by Cyprus’ Vision 2035,” PwC Cyprus CEO Philippos Soseilos stated. “The sector is going through its own transformation journey, with stakeholders recognising the need to continuously reinvent themselves, and change how they create, deliver and capture economic value – value that will enable Cyprus to continue attracting foreign direct investments – value that is sustainable and fit for the ongoing, as well as future needs of our country,” he concluded.

Source: Cyprus Mail