Newsroom / CNA
House and apartment rents went up 8% and 11.1%, respectively, over the year in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to the Ask Wire Index. At the same period, house and apartment values rose 3% and 8.8% respectively over the year.
Compared to the previous quarter, rental values remained stable, while a slight decrease in sales values for houses was recorded. While the market is currently broadly stable, demand for residential properties is expected to weaken further during Q1 2024, Ask Wire noted.
Across Cyprus, on an annual basis, prices increased by 8.8% for apartments, 3% for houses, 4.2% for offices, 0.8% for retail, 4.9% for holiday apartments, 4.8% for holiday houses, and were stable for warehouses. Overall, on a quarterly basis values increased by 0.5% for apartments and the sale value remained stable for warehouses. Most of the property types decreased for houses 0.3%, for commercial 0.6%, office spaces 0.5%, holiday apartments decreased by 0.8% and 0.2% for holiday houses.
In terms of rental values, compared to Q4 2022 there has been an increase of 11.1% for apartments, 8% for houses, 4.9% for retail, 9% for offices, 8.4% for holiday apartments and 4.8% for holiday houses, with a decrease of 0.6% for warehouses. On a quarterly basis rental values increased by 0.7% for apartments and remained stable for the rest of the properties. As for holiday apartments there was a decrease of 1% and holiday houses rental values stayed the same.
Pavlos Loizou, CEO of Ask Wire, commented that "real estate demand is influenced by political unrest in the region, inflation eating away households’ disposable income, and elevated mortgage rates".
He noted that as we advance into the first quarter of 2024, with considerable supply coming through and weakening demand, it is expected that prices will adjust accordingly.
Furthermore, he underlined that commercial property values will likely continue to face significant challenges, given the allure of alternative investment opportunities that offer appealing risk-adjusted returns.
