Filenews 25 January 2026 - by Eleftheria Paizanou
If someone reads that a buyer acquired a piece of land and even through the electronic auction at a price of just €21, they will think that we are referring to the board game Monopoly, through which virtual buying and selling of properties takes place.
Others may think that we are fooling him, but this is a real case. According to information from "F", this is the lowest price at which an electronic auction of sold plots through the e-auction platform was locked.
The e-auction system has been in place since December 2019 and is managed by ACB E-Auctions Ltd, a subsidiary of the Association of Banks. This act took place in 2023 in a community in Mountainous Nicosia and concerned the purchase of 25 square meters (sq.m.) of agricultural land. Specifically, it was part of a multiple electronic auction, with the successful buyer acquiring a 1/4 share of a field, with a total area of 103 sq.m. In fact, the starting price of the auction was €20 and the process was completed at €21.
They bought 3 sq.m.
This case is not the only one, as another bidder acquired land of 3 sq.m. through the platform at the price of €80. Based on information obtained by "F", this auction was held in 2024 on agricultural land in Mountainous Limassol. The reserved opening price of the auction was €76, with the last bet closing at €80. The 3 sq.m. is 1/5, part of a multiple auction of land of only 15 sq.m.
Last year, the cheapest sale of a property through electronic auction concerned 28 sq.m. of agricultural land in the Limassol District, which was purchased at the price of €43. It was part of a multiple auction of a field with a total area of 511 sq.m., i.e. the buyer secured a share of 8/144 of the property. The starting price of the auction was €42.
In addition, in 2022, as part of the electronic sales process, a 93 sq.m. field in the Nicosia District passed into the hands of a buyer at a price of €122, with the starting price of the process being €116. It should be noted that the specific cases concerned mortgaged properties secured by borrowers, mainly from the Cooperative.
The above cases may cause laughter, but at the same time they cause concern, as the bad practices of the past are highlighted once again, where mortgage lenders accepted as a mortgage what the borrowers declared to them. Something that has been demonstrated by the findings of the various studies carried out when looking for the causes that led to the economic crisis of 2013. Since then, supervision in the financial sector has been tight, and procedures are extremely rigorous.
The most expensive properties
On the other hand, the five most expensive properties that have been sold through the e-auction platform are the following:
–A commercial property, locked in the auction at a price of €5.25 million. The reserved opening price of the auction was €2 million and the price went up through the bidding.
-A property was sold for €2.2 million, with the starting price of the auction not having changed.
-Other premises, the final price sold at auction was €2.1 million, while the initial sale price was €1.6 million.
-A mortgaged plot was sold at a price of €1.5 million, an amount that started the auction.
-Another property, for which an amount of €926,000 was initially requested, was eventually sold at the price of €1.57 million.
Under the law, the foreclosure process begins with the successive sending of notices from the mortgage lender to the debtor. After the last warning letter sent by creditors to borrowers, the auction is scheduled after 45 days. The reserved sale price, in the first auction, cannot be less than 80% of the market value resulting from the estimates. In the second auction, the reserve price may be reduced on a case-by-case basis up to 50% of the market value. After a successful sale, the proceeds are used to pay off mortgage debt, interest, expenses, and fees.
In the hammer more than 20,000 – Achieved 16% of foreclosures
In total, through the system, 20,042 properties went under the hammer electronically (they do not concern unique properties, as they may have gone under the hammer 2 times), of which 16% of the foreclosures succeeded, i.e. 3,216 properties, plots of land, plots, fields, etc.
It is recalled that, between 2020 and 2025, foreclosures were periodically put on ice, either through legislative regulations by the Parliament, or through voluntary suspension by creditors, i.e. banks and credit acquiring companies.
For example, in 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic, sales were suspended for six months. Between 2021 and 2023, the parties by law froze auctions for homes worth up to €350,000, business premises with a turnover of €750,000 and parcels of land worth up to €100,000.
In addition, in 2024, the legal framework was strengthened, which shielded borrowers through their access to the Financial Dispute Resolution Body, while last year the banks and loan acquiring companies alone had suspended the foreclosure procedures for properties belonging to borrowers in the fire-affected areas, as well as for trapped property buyers.
From the analysis of the data obtained by "F", it appears that year by year the interest of citizens who participate in the e-auction platform, securing real estate, is increasing. The high prices of rents for the purchase of apartments and houses, as well as the high lending rates, were the reasons for the increase in the purchase of real estate through electronic auctions.
In detail, the following auctions took place:
-In 2020, 1,081 electronic auctions were posted, of which 8% were successful, corresponding to 84.
-In 2021, 34,422 mortgaged properties went under the hammer, of which 12% of the auctions succeeded, i.e. 417 properties. The initial sale price was €41.8 million and the final sale price of €46.3 million.
-In 2022, there were 4,104 electronic auctions, where 14% succeeded, i.e. 457. The initial sale price of the property was €52 million and were eventually sold at €56.22 million.
-In 2023, it achieved 17% of electronic auctions, i.e. 581 out of a total of 3,521. The starting price of the auctions was €50.6 million and were eventually sold at €56.9 million.
-In 2024, 4,211 auctions were held, of which 20% were successful, i.e. 858 properties. The original sale price was €66.4 million and were finally sold for €79 million.
-In 2025, the success rate of electronic auctions remained at 20%. A total of 3,608 properties were sold and the auction for 739 was successful. The reserve opening price of the auctions was €57.2 million and locked in €71.7 million.
Thirty bets at once
Essentially, the value of mortgaged properties during auctions increased by 25%. It is recalled that from 2022 onwards, only electronic auctions are held, as physical auctions have stopped. Bidders from Cyprus and abroad participate in the electronic auctions, provided that they have registered on the platform. Interested parties (natural and legal persons) have access to this auction platform via computer, telephone and tablet.
Bidders can choose the property they are interested in and within 1-5 days before the auction they must deposit the amount of the guarantee corresponding to 10% of the reserved auction price. There was a case where 30 bidders participated at the same time during the electronic auction process. However, there were cases where interested parties bet on the last second of the auction, which usually lasts about 2 hours, which resulted in the bid not being assimilated by the system.
