More than 900 Cyprus primary residences now on track for auction

A growing number of primary residences valued below €350,000 are being pushed to auction, according to confidential data from the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) submitted to parliament.

According to figures obtained by Stockwatch, this trend has intensified since early 2024, when a moratorium on the sale of primary residences worth up to €350,000 was lifted.

In the third quarter of 2025, 98 main residences were sold at auction. Of these, 93 had a market value below €350,000 and only five exceeded that threshold.

The number marks a sharp rise compared with the corresponding quarter of 2024, when just five first homes were sold, and with the fourth quarter of that year, when six were sold, four of them under €350,000.

Of the 93 lower-value homes sold in the July – September 2025 period, 16 were acquired by third parties, while 77 were purchased by the mortgage lender six months after the completion of the first auction process.

In the higher-value category, four homes were bought by the lender through the same procedure and one was sold at the first auction.

More than 900 primary residences were on the auction track in the third quarter of 2025, with the majority valued below €350,000, according to the CBC’s latest update to parliament.

Representatives of affected borrowers say the figures are rising month by month.

Notifications also increased. During the quarter, notices covering various stages of the sale process were sent to 731 borrowers with homes valued below €350,000 and to 81 owners of properties above that level.

In total, 174 lower-value properties and 34 higher-value properties received a Type IA notice, which sets the date, time and place of the first public auction and must be served at least 30 days before the sale.

A further 388 Type I notices were issued for homes under €350,000 and 32 for those above, informing borrowers of the lender’s intention to sell and granting 45 days to settle arrears.

At an earlier stage of the procedure, 167 borrowers with homes below €350,000 and 15 with higher-value properties received a Type I letter notifying them of default exceeding 120 days, making the loan immediately due and payable.

Under the Immovable Property (Transfer and Mortgage) Law, the total time from the initial notice to auction is estimated at four to six months, although legal objections and restructuring attempts can delay the process.

Efforts to provide relief remain stalled. Legislation passed at the end of 2023 to create a special court jurisdiction for foreclosure cases has yet to become operational.

At the same time, the powers of the Financial Commissioner were expanded to allow more borrowers to seek out-of-court restructuring, but the commissioner’s decisions are not binding.

Around 30 legislative proposals aimed at protecting affected borrowers are expected to be discussed by the House Finance Committee on March 9, in the presence of the finance minister and the central bank governor, as pressure builds ahead of parliamentary elections.