More than 50,000 property sales in Cyprus have already been transferred to third-country nationals this year, with Paphos taking the lead, Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou told parliament.

Specifically, 53,076 transfers were completed nationwide by July 7, 2025, the minister mentioned.

Of these, 20,755 took place in Paphos, 17,083 in Limassol, 9,175 in Larnaca, 3,509 in Famagusta, and 2,554 in Nicosia, according to the Department of Lands and Surveys (DLS).

A further 29,089 sales contracts have been filed but await transfer, bringing the total properties moving into foreign hands to 82,165, including 9,470 pending in Paphos, 7,297 in Larnaca, 7,208 in Limassol, 4,225 in Famagusta, and 899 in Nicosia. 

Ioannou gave the figures in response to a question from MP Nikos Georgiou on how Cyprus enforces its foreign property law, and included in a report shared by Cypriot daily Politis.

Under the Immovable Property Acquisition (Aliens) Law (Cap. 109), “acquisition” includes not only sales but also long leases over 33 years, share transfers in companies controlling property, and trusts benefitting foreigners.  

He stressed that a permit from the district governor is required for completing a transfer, but not for filing the initial sales contract. 

The minister added that for legal purposes, transfer documents are treated as sales agreements and that the land registry cannot yet differentiate by nationality. The registry currently holds 9,746 active assignment contracts.

Similar patterns were seen in previous years, when more than 37,000 properties changed hands between 2021 and the end of 2024, led by UK nationals, while Cypriots bought over 200,000.

The figures are detailed in the historical datasets of the DLS. and as mentioned on Cyprus Mail.

In Nicosia, Greeks were the top foreign buyers with 1,626 properties, followed by UK nationals with 1,584 and Australians with 545, although Cypriots remained dominant with 98,205 purchases compared to 5,236 by foreigners.  

Limassol saw Russians lead with 2,561 acquisitions, followed by UK nationals (1,840) and Israelis (1,154).

In Paphos, UK nationals bought 4,483 properties, Russians 1,563, and Israelis 1,291, with more than 10,000 properties going to foreign nationals against 28,484 for Cypriots.

Larnaca recorded 2,743 UK purchases, 1,744 Lebanese, and 1,406 Israelis, while in Famagusta UK nationals led again with 1,182 properties.