Infographic – Cyprus: At a Glance

Paphos is the most popular place in Cyprus’ property market, according to TheMoveChannel.com’s latest At a Glance infographic.

The region has always been a hotspot for foreign investment and the overseas portal’s infographic, based upon activity in the last 12 months, shows that almost one-third of buyers are not afraid to stick with somewhere familiar: Paphos attracted 32.77 per cent of all Cyprus property enquiries.

Limasol is the second favourite area, accounting for 21.85 per cent of enquiries since May 2011. Larnaca and Famagusta generated equal levels of interest, taking 13.45 per cent and 13.34 per cent respectively. Nicosia follows close behind them, accounting for 11.24 per cent of demand, but it is a long way from Paphos, which received almost triple the number of enquiries.

The least popular district by a significant margin is Kyrenia, in Northern Cyprus, which was responsible for only 7.35 per cent of activity on the portal during the last year. This lack of interest is the result of a lack of sellers as opposed to buyers; the majority of Northern Cyprus property listed on TheMoveChannel.com falls within Famagusta, suggesting that there are not many homeowners in Kyrenia looking to move but also that tourist developments tend to be in other regions.

Indeed, the Top 10 Cyprus locations searched for by buyers all fall outside of Kyrenia. Unsurprisingly, the three largest cities in the country attracted the most attention, with Limassol and Larnaca ahead of the capital Nicosia. Paphos’ most popular place, Peyia, came in fourth, but the region accounts for three of the Top 10 destinations, reinforcing its high profile with buyers.

The infographic also displays the search behaviour of buyers over the last year. Users looking for Cyprus real estate in Google tend to search between May and July, most commonly using the phrase “Cyprus property”. Like the other traditional markets depicted by the At a Glance infographics, the most widely targeted type of property is “houses for sale in Cyprus”. Indeed, between the months of August and October last year, the demand for houses was so strong that it generated as many Google searches as the general phrase “property in Cyprus”.

Editor Ivan Radford comments: “It’s no secret that the official Cyprus property sales figures have decreased as the global financial climate worsens. In times of economic uncertainty, buyers frequently turn to familiar property hotspots for investment opportunities. With Paphos visibly the most popular region on the infographic, Cyprus is no exception. Indeed, the most commonly searched-for destinations in the country are almost all towns and resorts on the coast, which emphasises the importance of tourist demand for both lifestyle buyers and investors.

“The biggest surprise is that while international demand has reportedly decreased, searches in Google for ‘Cyprus property’ have stayed relatively constant. The phrase appeared in 1,300 searches in April 2012 compared to 1,900 in May last year; a sizeable drop of 32 per cent but one that, compared to national statistics, should perhaps be sharper.

“The At a Glance infographic illustrates a lot of things we already know about Cyprus’ property market, but the interesting thing it shows is that while demand for Cypriot real estate has apparently disappeared, buyer interest still seems to be strong.”

Click here for the full infographic.

Notes to Editors

Founded in 1999, TheMoveChannel.com is the leading independent website for international property, with than 400,000 listings in over 100 countries around the world, marketed on behalf of agents, developers and private owners.

The website address is http://www.themovechannel.com and the office address is 24 Jack’s Place, Corbet Place, Spitalfields, London, E1 6NN.

Contact Dan Johnson on 0207 952 7650 for further information.