Cyprus house prices defy slump in the third quarter

House prices in Cyprus defied the global slump in the third quarter of 2008, rising by 1.5% between July and September according to the hedonic BuySell Home Price Index.
However, the Index, which was created and is updated monthly on behalf of BuySell Cyprus Real Estate by MAP S. Platis, showed a slowdown
The BuySell Home Price Index rose by 9.0% in the third quarter, compared with 15.4% in the second and 20.0% in the first according our calculations.
Home prices fell slightly in July, by 0.4%, having fallen by 0.7% in June.
However, house prices increased in August and September by 1% each month, driving the year-to-date increase to 4.4%.
The BuySell Home Price Index closed at 145.23 (September 2008) bringing the Average Home Price in Cyprus to EUR 193,323.
While property prices have held up for those properties actually sold, there are separate reports that the volume of sales is down by as much as 40% so far this year, suggesting that people are not selling if they cannot find the right price.

Fiona Mullen