Cyprus Real Estate News

Cyprus property sales: December 2009 report

2009-12-12T20:04:00.000+02:00

ACCORDING to the latest figures from the Cyprus Land Registry, there was a modest increase in the number of properties sold during November this year compared to November 2008.

Overall, 792 contracts of sale were deposited at Land Registries throughout Cyprus in November, compared to 723 last month and 782 in November 2008. And although 1% more properties were sold last month than a year ago, demand is still very low compared to previous years. In November 2007 for example 1,979 properties were sold and in November 2006 1,587.

Number of Property Sales – 2008/2009 Comparison
Location	Nicosia		Famagusta		Larnaca		Limassol		Paphos		Total
Month	2008	2009	2008	2009	2008	2009	2008	2009	2008	2009	2008	2009
January	367	101	187	37	345	77	301	152	415	91	1615	458
February	349	161	269	52	312	112	345	132	306	101	1581	558
March	365	162	142	49	229	97	317	160	273	112	1326	580
April	296	162	143	71	296	122	310	126	291	122	1336	603
May	325	184	216	68	282	134	268	146	275	107	1366	639
June	298	188	166	82	289	152	297	189	336	142	1386	753
July	330	254	225	114	266	141	369	214	352	179	1542	902
August	155	173	128	64	165	135	236	148	252	122	936	642
September	238	235	196	83	241	113	233	174	249	152	1157	757
October	228	195	128	88	211	114	235	182	214	144	1016	723
November	178	221	82	92	128	134	197	191	197	154	782	792
Total Sales	3129	2036	1882	800	2764	1331	3108	1814	3160	1426	14043	7407
% Change		-35%		-57%		-52%		-42%		-55%		-47%

Israelis embrace occupied Cyprus as British buyers slump

2009-12-08T09:12:00.000+02:00

The president of the northern Cyprus Real Estate Agencies Union, Hasan Sungur, has claimed that Israelis are flocking to buy land and properties in the occupied areas, following close behind mainland Turks.

The announcement comes after a tough year for real estate in northern Cyprus, which has seen sales to Britons almost grind to a halt, mostly due to the high profile Orams case.

Sungur said that Israeli investors have recently increased the real estate purchases in occupied Nicosia and Kerynia, with the occupied Agios Amvrosios district attracting many investors.

In addition, Israeli companies are actively investing in a number of infrastructure projects in the north.

It is known that in Kyrenia there are currently five construction companies which have Israeli owners or partners. Sungur also said there are several thousand buildings constructed by Israeli companies in districts on the Karpaz Peninsula.

The end of Cyprus’ remarkable real estate boom

2009-09-06T08:32:00.000+03:00

CYPRUS’ remarkable three-year housing boom ended in 2008. The market’s peak was in November 2008; after that, prices began to fall.

According to MAP S.Platis, who prepare the BuySell Home Price Index, average home prices fell by 2.17% (-3.22% in real terms) year-on-year, to € 187,053 in March 2009.

The crunch was mainly caused by lower demand from British buyers, who comprise around 70% of all foreign buyers in Cyprus. The UK recession and the weakening of the pound against the euro has prompted British buyers to look for non-Euro destinations, according to Global Finance, a business and finance magazine. Property demand from non-Cypriots buyers fell by 50% in the last period of 2008.

Cyprus Real Estate: The Jewel Of The Mediterranean

2009-07-15T10:53:00.000+03:00

Cyprus is a popular vacation destination, especially for Europeans who come from the dreary corners of the continent. The island boasts over 300 days of sunshine, a Mediterranean lifestyle, and a friendly population that speaks adequate levels of English to facilitate communication with visitors. Tourists can hang out at the beach, climb Mount Olympus, hideaway in quaint mountain villages, check out byzantine churches, and visit monasteries.

Cyprus, Paphos, Aphrodite Hills

2009-06-20T17:26:00.000+03:00

Situated at the most privileged location of Aphrodite Hills Resort, Hestiades Greens is a beautiful residential development, designed to please the most demanding golf enthusiasts. The properties enjoy the most extensive views of the golf course, as well as views of the resort’s lake.

The project consists of 38 exclusively designed terraced villas, built all along the elongated parcel of land adjacent to the golf course greens.

The Award winning Aphrodite Hills is a luxurious and elegant golf resort near Paphos. The Aphrodite Hills Resort is the first ever fully integrated golf, leisure and real estate development in Cyprus. The award-winning resort’s exceptional facilities include a five star hotel Intercontinental Resort Hotel, Clubhouse, Golf Academy, Tennis Academy and Spa as well as a village square with tavernas, restaurants, supermarket and other amenities.

Future of Cyprus real estate looks brighter

2009-05-11T01:50:00.000+03:00

Falling cement sales and rising unemployment in the construction sector suggest that construction in Cyprus is doing badly at present.
But the future appears already to be brighter, according to the forward-looking statistics of building permits.
The value of building permits has been rising for nine straight months. In February the value of building permits authorised rose by 26% to EUR 243.4 mln compared with February 2008. Moreover, the average increase over the past nine months has been 15.4% compared with the same period of the previous year.
In terms of area, building permits rose by 9.6% in February and on average 10.6% in the past nine months, while the number of dwellings authorised rose by 5.8% in February and by 29.1% in the past nine months.
Only the number of building permits authorised has been more erratic, but that is natural, since it reflects a mixture of multi-dwelling apartments and offices as well as single houses.

Cyprus house prices drop 1.7% in Q1

2009-04-23T20:37:00.000+03:00

Global real estate trends have finally reached Cyprus, with residential house prices falling in the first quarter.
For the period January to March 2009, the BuySell Home Price Index recorded a cumulative decrease of 1.7% compared to December 2008.
Compared with the same period of 2008, prices fell by 2.2%. This is the first fall recorded since August 2005.
The hedonic BuySell Home Price Index is the only house price index in Cyprus.
Prices were quite volatile during the first quarter, which BuySell said is indicative of the uncertainty in the sector and the general economic environment.
Home prices recorded fell by 1.5% in January, increased by 2% in February and declined by 2.2% in March.
The BuySell Home Price Index closed at 140.52 (March 2009) bringing the Average Home Price in Cyprus down to EUR 187,053.

Russians have invested €2 billion in Cyprian banks

2009-04-18T21:30:00.000+03:00

In an interview for Interfax, the President of the Russian Bankers Union said that as financial products the Cyprian banks are as attractive as the ones in Luxemburg – they offer convenient tax reliefs and at the same time they work under strict international laws. “In Cyprus, as opposed to other countries, there is a lot of budget excess,” says Edward Savoulyak – an investments advisor and reminds that first, in Cyprus there is no danger for deposits and second, the government is guaranteeing up to €100 000. In Russia .

Cyprus is not attractive only because of its banks. Kathimerini newspaper claims that Russians are also attracted by the real estate opportunities. Last year, 30% of all real estate sales were done with Russians. For the first three months of 2009, this percentage has increased to 40% and this way Russia is becoming the biggest foreign real estate investor on the island. Also, Russian tourists have increased because last year 31% of the issued visas for Cyprus were given to Russians.

Luxury homes with sea view in North Cyprus

2009-04-15T19:14:00.000+03:00

Mini poll finds real estate bargains in Cyprus, U.K.

2009-04-11T23:31:00.000+03:00

A mini-poll conducted on the FinancialMirror.com website has found that nearly a third of the visitors to the site would invest in real estate bargains in Cyprus. An equal number of 32% of those polled said that amid the present financial crisis they would invest in real estate in the U.K., while just under a quarter of those who responded said that they would not invest at all in any real estate this year.
Despite rapidly falling prices, Greece only accounted for one in ten of those who responded and only 3% said they would invest in real estate elsewhere in Europe.

For the latest poll on “Where will you spend the Easter holidays?”, go to www.financialmirror.com and check out the box at the bottom right hand corner.

Property prices slashed

2009-04-03T19:51:00.000+03:00

According to BuySell ten of the properties are on sale for 50 per cent less than market value, while 45 properties are going for 40 per cent less and the remainder for 30 per cent less.

“The whole property sector has slowed down. The coastal areas – Paphos, Larnaca and Famagusta – have been particularly badly affected”, BuySell a marketing team member told the Cyprus Mail yesterday. “Prices had been rising since 2001-2002, so this is an unusual step for us to take”, he added.

Some of the ads indicate that the property for sale has not yet been completely built, and only feature the developer’s illustration rather than actual photos. This suggests that these particular sellers either no longer regard their property to be an attractive investment or are in financial difficulties.

The most recent BuySell Home Price Index (BHPI) showed that overall, property prices withstood the global property market recession in 2008, recording a year-on-year increase of 2.8 per cent, compared to a total increase of 19.2 per cent in 2007. One of the main factors in the 2008 figure was the worsening of global economic conditions.

PROPERTY developers and real estate agents in Cyprus

2009-03-24T19:05:00.000+02:00

With just 558 contracts of sale being deposited at the Land Registry during February, compared to 1581 during February last year, Cyprus property sales have plummeted by an incredible 65%.

During the first two months of this year developers and estate agents managed to sell a mere 1,016 properties, compared to the 3,196 properties they sold during the same period in 2008, 2,940 in 2007 and 2,462 in 2006.

According to real estate agent Elias Danos “The global financial crisis, which has affected the Cyprus economy too, the uncertainty for its depth and the lack of liquidity in the market has made buyers more careful and hesitant.”

“The crisis affects all cities. Sales in Paphos, Larnaca and Famagusta were affected the most due to their dependence on the foreign market. However, neither Limassol nor Nicosia remained unaffected by the developments,” he noted.

Turkish Cypriots and the settlers puzzle

2009-03-01T17:26:00.000+02:00

No doubt, it was a rescue operation for Turkish Cypriots at the time. The years went by and it became very apparent that the operation was not so innocent. It had a wider coverage as a tailor-made occupation project, in which almost all possessions of Turkish Cypriots (including people’s hearts and minds) were held hostage.

In the first couple of years, the forcible population transfers took place. The pretext given by the Turkish government was to meet requirements in the lack of a farming workforce, although there wasn’t really such a necessity.

Following their arrival, the land captured from displaced Greek Cypriots was distributed to settlers free of charge. Village names in north Cyprus were immediately replaced with new ones in parallel with the incoming population’s original settlement names in Turkey. The gates of north were wide opened to everybody from “the Mainland”.

Cyprus submits its 2008-2012 Stability Programme

2009-02-25T14:31:00.000+02:00

Cyprus has so far weathered the storm, but the 2009 outlook is more uncertain, it is noted in Cyprus' Stability Programme (SP) for the period 2008-2012 which has been submitted to the European Commission.

The Stability Programme for the Period 2008-2012 which has been approved by the Council of Ministers on December 17, 2008 and subsequently amended on February 3rd, 2009, takes into account the European Commission’s recent proposal for a coordinated recovery plan to address the current economic downturn, and the joint conclusion adopted by the European Council in December 2008.

A key policy aim of the government is to promote growth and strengthen social cohesion. In this regard, the government aims at re-directing resources in favour of social expenditure and growth-enhancing expenditure categories, improving physical infrastructure in various segments of the economy while, at the same time, safeguarding macroeconomic stability.

Cyprus Property Boom Ends as Weak Pound Scares Away U.K. Buyers

2009-02-20T22:11:00.001+02:00

Real estate salesman Michael Cartwright wasn’t sure he’d still have a job when he flew back to Cyprus from London in December.

His company, Leptos Estates, is struggling to sell vacation homes on the Mediterranean island to British buyers after the pound lost almost a quarter of its value against the euro and U.K. unemployment climbed to a nine-year high.

Two thousand miles away, Cyprus is feeling the aftershocks of the end of a British housing binge. Prices for apartments in the resort towns of Paphos and Paralimni fell as much as 25 percent in the past four months, after more than doubling since 2002, according to data compiled by broker Antonis Loizou & Associates Ltd. in Nicosia. Building permits for homes on the island, a gauge of future housing starts, declined 2.4 percent during the first 11 months of last year.

Delivery of Phase 2 units in Sweetwater Bay has started

2009-02-17T12:17:00.000+02:00

Sweetwater Bay is a located in a stunning natural sea front landscape east of Kyrenia of North Cyprus, below the picturesque village of Tatlisu.

The entire district of the property is undergoing development, with increased entertainment and dining facilities. The village site is bounded by two natural streams and lies above a private secluded bay, the best the Mediterrenean offers.

The new coast road passes half a mile south of the village, allowing easy, fast access, yet maintaining required privacy.

The village offers a variety of accomodation possibilities: bungalows, villas, garden apartments and penthouses, as well as numerous fully developed public features and facilities, including swimming pools, dining, recreation and access to a private beach.

house prices remained stable until end 2008

2009-02-06T13:46:00.000+02:00

From January to December 2008, the index recorded a total increase of 2.8 per cent compared to 2007’s total increase of 19.2 per cent.

Home prices in Cyprus during 2008 began with a strong monthly increase of 3.6 per cent in January, followed by a one per cent rise in February. For the next few months, prices followed an overall descending path bringing the BuySell Home Price Index to its lowest level for 2008 in July at 142.42 units, with the average home price dropping to €189,583.

This was reversed during the subsequent four months with prices rising a total of four per cent, bringing the index to its highest level for the year in November (148.12 units).

Britain keeping watch on title deeds fiasco

2009-01-22T15:30:00.001+02:00

BRITAIN will take a close interest in measures taken by the Cyprus government to sort out the problems of home buyers left without their title deeds, a written answer to the House of Lords has said.

Two questions were placed before the Lords last November detailing the concerns of some property buyers worried about the implications of not holding legal ownership to their properties.

For them, the issue became more urgent as the global credit crunch began to bite into the real-estate sector with the possibility of foreclosure by the banks on the developers who still hold titles.

The average wait for title deeds in Cyprus is 10-15 years, and there are around 100,000 home owners still waiting, 30,000 of whom are foreigners.

Answering on behalf of the government, Lord Malloch-Brown said the British High Commission had raised the issue with the Cyprus government.

Cyprus economic forecast not so good

2009-01-10T21:00:00.000+02:00

The Cyprus Finance Ministry has cut its economic forecasts in the wake of the global financial crisis.

Charilaos Stavrakis has said that the ministry projects economic growth of 2.1% as its central scenario, and 2.6% as an optimistic scenario instead of 3.0% provided for in the 2009 budget.

Despite the downward revision, Stavrakis said that both the finance ministry and the government have set a target that Cyprus will present, in 2009, the highest growth rate in the euro area which is expected, according to EU Commission figures, to present negative growth of 0.9%.

"The international financial crisis indeed is getting worse and this inevitably affects an open economy as that of Cyprus. However, we continue to believe that we will have very satisfactory growth rates," Stavrakis told a press conference.

Cyprus banks to cover exposure in property sector

2008-12-21T16:23:00.000+02:00

UNDER pressure from the slowdown in the Cyprus property sector, it is expected that the commercial banks will be called on to cover their big lending exposures the sector next year. In its latest economic bulletin the Central Bank of Cyprus refers to the credit risks that the banks have undertaken over the past few years as being a result of their increased lending to property developers and real estate agents.

In September 2007, loans to companies actively involved in the property construction and management sectors amounted to 15.8% of all loans to Cypriots. This represents an increase of 22% over the year which, according to calculations carried out by StockWatch, corresponds to an increase of €4.1 billion. A year ago the banks’ exposure stood at €5.1 billion a year ago; today it exceeds €9.2 billion.

Limassol developers in crisis

2008-12-07T08:21:00.000+02:00

For those lucky enough actually to get a loan from a Cypriot bank, the increased interest rates will seriously raise the cost of their property. “The increase in interest rates is also a deterring factor for those who do meet the requirements for a loan. Of course, banks cannot stop loans 100 per cent so they do give them out to people who meet requirements. These people, however, will think twice as interest rates are higher,” Protopapas explained.

The situation is further strained by the fact that the foreign buyers, who boosted Cypriot real estate to begin with, are now liquidating their Cypriot properties to deal with the economic crisis. “The global crisis has to a large extent affected Cyprus as we had a lot of buyers from the UK and Europe who bought their second residence on the island. These people are now selling these properties, which has raised the availability of properties. However, demand has been reduced,” Protopapas added.

There are, however, those who believe that the current crisis will in the long run have positive results as it will stabilise previously sky-high prices and control the number of developers. “The crisis could have good results in the long run as prices will stabilise and the solid professionals who survive it will be able to continue in the sector. Plot prices had been raised significantly, which had forced us to raise flat prices. This may stabilise with current conditions,” explained Kinnis.

Cyprus property tax revenues slump 27 pct Jan-Oct

2008-11-26T12:43:00.000+02:00

NICOSIA, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Cyprus's tax receipts from real estate transactions fell 27 percent in the first ten months of the year though overall revenues were marginally higher than last year, data released on Thursday showed.

Reflecting a downturn in the property market, capital gains tax fell revenue fell to 278.86 million euros from January to October, from 382.78 million in the first ten months of 2007.

The levy is primarily charged on disposal of real estate, a sector which has been hit by slumping demand from west European markets for holiday homes on the island.

High real estate revenues helped propel state finances to a 3.3 percent surplus in 2007. Authorities expect a surplus of around 1.0 percent in 2008.

Cyprus real estate ‘resilient’, says RICS

2008-11-11T12:19:00.000+02:00

The Cyprus real estate market, based on its sturdy economy, has so far resisted the negative consequences of the global credit crunch. According to a recent survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) on the second quarter of 2008, Cyprus is one of the few countries that displayed strengthening tendencies during this period.
The latest RICS Global Commercial Property market survey confirmed that Cyprus was one of the few economies which showed strengthening trends into the second quarter of this year. Tenant demand expanded at the fastest pace of any country within western Europe as a still robust economy underpinned demand for business space. Furthermore, rental expectations remained positive into Q3.

Cyprus Property bucks the Credit Crunch Trend

2008-10-19T02:11:00.000+03:00

There can be no doubt, the credit crunch represents a global economic phenomenon; as reflected in the downturn in the property markets of many European and North American countries. It may seem strange then that Cyprus remains relatively unaffected - with property prices running against the grain of recession.

Cyprus is one of Europe’s most popular holiday locations. Indeed, many visitors love Cyprus so much that they return home only to up-root and relocate there permanently.

It is easy to see why when you consider that it is one of the sunniest locations in Europe. That is not to say that the warm climate is the only appeal, far from it, Cyprus also boasts one of Europe’s lowest crime rates - making it a very attractive, safe place to holiday with the entire family. It is also a very well developed country, with a sound legal system, investment from many multinational companies and regular direct flights from most major European cities.

Cyprus property market: crisis expands

2008-09-30T16:39:00.000+03:00

The crisis is exceptionally intense on housing properties, where prices have declined up to 25%. Although in the previous survey crisis focused on tourist areas only, the new survey shows that it affects all housing properties in the market.

Sixteen of the total twenty developers support that prices fall. Only one sees that prices will go up and three expect that they will stabilize. Two developers stressed that conditions in Limassol differ due to the interest on behalf of the Russian businessmen.

All twenty developers and estate agents are actively involved in all cities of free Cyprus. The list includes businesses of all sizes, including the big.

Most of the respondents said that shop and office prices fall too, while others see a decline in plots and farms. At the previous StockWatch survey, none of the respondents expected a drop in this type of properties. Almost all anticipated that plot prices would stabilize.