# Who Buys Cyprus: property buyers by origin, district and month, from DLS data > Who is buying property in Cyprus: Cypriot, EU and non-EU buyers by district and month since January 2018, compiled from Department of Lands and Surveys (DLS) figures. Explore contracts of sale and transfers, compare districts, and see how the approximate Cypriot share is worked out. Edition of 20 October 2026, data to September 2026. Publisher: Clickhouse Media, Nicosia, CY. Last reviewed: 2026-10-20. Figures marked "Confirm" are being checked. Canonical URL: https://whobuyscyprus.com/ ## Short answer In September 2026, 1,681 contracts of sale were registered in Cyprus, and the Department of Lands and Surveys (DLS) counted 495 properties with contracts to non-EU buyers and 210 to EU buyers. From January to September 2026 there were 14,969 contracts, up 13.6%, with 4,173 non-EU and 2,094 EU properties. Subtracting foreign properties from contracts leaves roughly 58% for Cypriots, an approximate figure because it mixes two units. Limassol had the most non-EU properties (1,314), just ahead of Paphos (1,308). DLS groups buyers only as EU or non-EU and publishes no nationality. ## Cyprus property buyers by origin: latest DLS figures and caveats, edition of 20 October 2026 - **All contracts of sale, September 2026**: 1,681 registered contracts, up 13.3% on 1,484 in September 2025. Limassol 506, Larnaca 393, Nicosia 374, Paphos 345, Famagusta 63. (Sourced) - **Foreign buyers, properties with contracts, September 2026**: 495 properties with contracts to non-EU buyers and 210 to EU buyers. (Sourced) - **Cypriot buyers, September 2026, approximate**: Roughly 976, or about 58.1% of contracts: 1,681 contracts less 210 and 495 properties. It is approximate because it subtracts properties from contracts, and DLS does not publish it. The same subtraction appears in a BuySell analysis reported by Cyprus Mail. (Confirm) - **All contracts of sale, January to September 2026**: 14,969, up 13.6% on 13,173 for the same months of 2025. (Sourced) - **Foreign buyers, properties with contracts, January to September 2026**: Non-EU 4,173 properties, up 19.7% on 3,487. EU 2,094, up 21.2% on 1,728. (Sourced) - **Cypriot buyers, January to September 2026, approximate**: Roughly 8,702, or about 58.1% of contracts, against about 60.4% a year earlier: 14,969 contracts less 6,267 foreign properties. Approximate, because it mixes contracts and properties. (Confirm) - **Districts with most non-EU properties under contract, 2026 so far**: Limassol 1,314, Paphos 1,308, Larnaca 1,123, Nicosia 247, Famagusta 181. Properties with contracts, January to September 2026. (Sourced) - **Districts with most EU properties under contract, 2026 so far**: Paphos 809, Limassol 500, Larnaca 420, Nicosia 246, Famagusta 119 properties, January to September 2026. (Sourced) - **Foreign share by district, 2026 so far, approximate**: Paphos about 70.6%, Larnaca 46.9%, Famagusta 45.7%, Limassol 37.3%, Nicosia 15.6%. EU plus non-EU properties divided by all contracts, so approximate: the two counts are different units. (Confirm) - **Foreign buyers, transfers, January to September 2026**: Non-EU 1,826 and EU 1,607 properties transferred. Transfers are completed sales, a different event from contracts. (Sourced) - **Full year 2025**: 18,114 contracts of sale. Non-EU 4,809 and EU 2,446 properties with contracts. (Sourced) - **The 2018 coding break**: DLS changed how it codes “alien” buyers in its Land Information System and advises against comparing data from 2018 onwards with earlier years. This dataset starts in January 2018. (Sourced) - **Properties against contracts**: The foreign table counts properties with registered contracts of sale; the all-buyers table counts registered contracts of sale. One contract can cover more than one property, which is why the Cypriot figure is approximate. (Sourced) - **How fast DLS publishes**: The 2026 foreign-buyer file read for this edition covers 1 January to 30 September 2026, and its PDF records a creation date of 6 October 2026, six days after the period ended. Its web address dates from February 2026, so DLS appears to update the same file as months are added. One file date does not show the usual lag. (Sourced) - **Buyer nationality**: Not published by DLS. A reply by the Interior Minister to Parliament, reported on 24 October 2025, named British, Israeli and Russian buyers among the leaders by district for September 2024 to September 2025. It is a one-off answer, not a series, and the reported totals do not add up, so we have not used it. (Confirm) - **British buyers after Brexit**: The UK Withdrawal Agreement took effect on 1 February 2020, with a transition to 31 December 2020. British buyers are outside the EU now, but DLS does not say from which month it counted them as non-EU. Treat EU against non-EU shifts in 2020 and 2021 with care. (Confirm) ## How to turn DLS buyer-origin data into a property marketing plan in four steps 1. **Read your district.** Pull 12 months of contracts for your district, with EU and non-EU properties and the approximate Cypriot figure, then the change on a year earlier and where you rank. 2. **Match it to your enquiries.** Set the DLS mix beside where your last 100 enquiries and sales came from, by country of residence, which DLS cannot give you. 3. **Test two or three markets.** Run small, equal campaigns in the source markets the mix points to, and judge them on cost per qualified enquiry and viewings booked. 4. **Re-read and reallocate.** Move budget to the markets that convert, then re-read the register when the next DLS quarter lands to see whether the district mix has shifted. ## Free tools on this page - **Buyer mix explorer**: Shows property purchases in Cyprus by EU and non-EU buyers, with an approximate Cypriot figure, for one district or all of Cyprus, as contracts of sale or transfers, for any month range from January 2018. Returns a stacked monthly chart, shares, the change on a year earlier, the leading district and a month-by-month ledger. - **District compare**: Compares two districts over the same period, or one district across two periods: all contracts of sale, EU and non-EU properties with contracts, an approximate foreign share and approximate Cypriot figure, foreign transfers, and the change in percentage points between the two. ## Questions and answers ### Who is buying property in Cyprus in 2026? Mostly Cypriots, then non-EU buyers, then EU buyers. From January to September 2026, DLS registered 14,969 contracts of sale and counted 4,173 properties with contracts to non-EU buyers and 2,094 to EU buyers. Subtracting those properties from the contracts leaves roughly 8,702, or about 58%, for Cypriots. That last figure is approximate, because it takes properties away from contracts. Foreign buyers dominate only in Paphos. ### Does this show buyers by nationality? No. The Department of Lands and Surveys publishes foreign buyers in two groups only, within the EU and outside the EU, and never by country. Nationality counts have appeared in the press from one-off replies to Parliament, but they are not a regular series, so this page does not use them. Your own enquiry records are the best source for nationality. ### What share of property buyers in Cyprus are foreigners? Roughly 42% in January to September 2026, against about 40% in the same months of 2025. That is EU plus non-EU properties with contracts, divided by all contracts of sale. The two DLS counts are different units, properties and contracts, so the share is approximate, good to a few points. ### Where in Cyprus do foreign buyers buy most? Limassol, Paphos and Larnaca. In January to September 2026, non-EU buyers took 1,314 properties under contract in Limassol, 1,308 in Paphos and 1,123 in Larnaca. EU buyers favour Paphos (809). Set against all contracts, Paphos has the highest approximate foreign share, about 71%, and Nicosia the lowest, about 16%. ### What is the difference between a contract of sale and a transfer? A contract of sale is the signed sale agreement deposited at the District Lands Office, usually soon after signing. A transfer is the change of title into the buyer’s name. On new builds it can come years later, once title deeds exist. Contracts show current demand; transfers show sales completing. Never add the two together. ### Are British buyers counted as EU or non-EU? Non-EU, now that the UK has left the EU. The Withdrawal Agreement took effect on 1 February 2020, with a transition to the end of 2020. DLS does not say from which month it moved British buyers into the non-EU column, so be careful when comparing 2019 with 2021. ### How is the number of Cypriot buyers worked out? By subtraction: all registered contracts of sale, less properties with contracts to EU and non-EU buyers, for the same district and month. DLS does not publish a Cypriot figure. Because one contract can cover more than one property, the result is approximate, and in one district month since 2018 it falls below zero. ### Why does the data start in 2018? Because DLS changed how it codes “alien” buyers in its Land Information System and advises against comparing data from 2018 onwards with earlier years. Earlier files exist back to 2008, but mixing them in would compare two different definitions. ### How often are Cyprus property sales figures updated? DLS keeps one file per year and appears to update it as months are added. The file read for this edition runs to September 2026 and was created on 6 October 2026. This page is rebuilt each quarter from fresh copies of every file, and the edition date at the top says which one you are reading. ### Does the district show where the buyer lives? No. The district is the District Lands Office where the property is registered. A buyer living in Nicosia who buys in Larnaca is counted in Larnaca. The data shows where foreign money lands, not where buyers come from within Cyprus or abroad. ### Is the Cyprus property market growing in 2026? By contracts, yes. January to September 2026 saw 14,969 contracts of sale, up 13.6% on 13,173 a year earlier, and September 2026 was up 13.3% on September 2025. Non-EU properties under contract rose 19.7% and EU properties 21.2%. These are counts of deals, not prices. ### Why do news reports give a different foreign share? Mostly because they cover different months or count differently. Some use transfers, some contracts, some a single month, some the year so far. This page computes every share from the DLS files with one stated method, so you can check it, and says which period each figure covers. ### Does this data include property prices? No. The foreign-buyer and contracts files carry counts only. DLS publishes separate sales transfer statistics that we have not used on this page, so we do not describe them here. Nothing on this page tells you what foreign buyers paid. ### Can I use these figures in an article or a report? Yes. Cite the Department of Lands and Surveys as the source of the counts and this page for the compiled series and the approximate Cypriot figure, with the edition date, and say that the Cypriot figure is approximate. The full monthly data sits in this page as plain JSON, readable without running anything. ## Contact Clickhouse Media, https://clickhouse.media