Property prices increased strongly year on year across Cyprus in the third quarter of 2017 with apartments up 7.4% and houses up 4.2%, the latest index shows.

The biggest annual increase was in Limassol with apartments up 13.2% and houses up 14.3%, according to the data from the latest quarterly report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

Month on month prices for both houses and apartments increased on a quarterly basis by 1.7% and 0.5% respectively, with the biggest increase being in Limassol with quarterly increase of 4.1% for flats and 5.5% houses.

The data also shows that prices increased in all cities with significant increases being recorded in all districts and Paralimni and Paphos showing slightly smaller annual increases.

Holiday home prices also increased with apartments up 2.5% and houses in this sector up 1.8%. Limassol recorded the highest quarterly increases for holiday apartments with a rise of 4% and Paralimni for holiday homes with an increase of 2.9%.

The lettings market is also seeing strong growth. Rents for apartments increased by 4.6% on a quarterly basis and house rents were up 2.5%. Year on year rents increased by 12.5% for flats while house rents increased by 9.2%.

Meanwhile, the latest official figures from the Cyprus Department of Lands and Surveys shows that sales are strong. The number of transactions in February 2018 increased by 46% compared to the same month in 2017.
This follows a rise of 64% in January, 36% in December, 39% in November and 18% in October, suggesting that the growth is sustained even taking into account sales falling 1% in Larnaca.

The highest sales growth was in Famagusta with a rise of 174%, followed by Paphos up 87%, Limassol up 45% and Nicosia up 32%, the data shows.