According to Land Registry, sales of Cypriot real estate to foreigners has declined by -76%.

Sales to Cypriots are also down by -28% in the first ten months of this year. Overall, all sales have decreased by -52% compared with last year. Only 1,480 properties on the Mediterranean islands were sold to non-Cypriots in 2009 compared with 6,118 during the first ten months of 2008. In October there were just 117 properties sold to foreigners across the whole island.

There is concern that traditional buyers such as the British, who make up around 50% of foreign buyers, have been put off by publicity about the title deed scandal which has left an estimated 130,000 investors without legal documents proving that they own their properties.

Criticism is mounting that the government is not doing enough. Cypriot lawyers are the latest group to condemn proposals from the government aimed at sorting it out. The Cyprus Property Action Group believes that the main cause of the problem – developers taking out mortgages on properties they have already sold – is not addressed.

The Cyprus Property and Landowners Association said it agrees that the amendments do not address the root of the problem but it praised the Government for trying to sort out the mess.