Figures recently released by the Department of Lands and Surveys in Cyprus reveal that a total of 2,030 properties were bought by overseas (non-Cypriot) buyers during 2010, an increase of 15% compared to 2009.

With the exception of Larnaca, where sales fell by -4.8% compared to last year, sales were up in all districts. Nicosia performed particularly well with sales up by more than 46%, on the back of strong Russian buying activity. Nicosia was followed by Famagusta, where sales were up 16.5%; Paphos up 16.3%; and finally Limassol, where sales were up 12%.

However, although the numbers are encouraging, the 2,030 properties sold to non-Cypriots last year is only a fraction of the 11,281 sold in 2007 and less than the number sold eight years ago before the property boom even started. So sales to foreigners are down around 82% from their peak and in Paphos sales last year of around 600 units are far lower than the 5,000 sold in 2007, down around 88%.

This is hardly surprising as most overseas buyers in Paphos were from the UK and the Euro is now 31% stronger than Sterling compared to 2007 when buyers were still getting over €1.50 to £1.00.

Last year many problems regarding the Cypriot property market were reported, including protests by the Leptos Buyers’ Action Group demanding their title deeds, numerous developers going bankrupt leaving buyers at the mercy of Cypriot banks, and bullets reportedly being fired in Frenaros while an ITV film crew were reporting the blight of British property buyers.