As there is a steep increase in the number of first-time buyers interested to get on to the property ladder in Cyprus, Government has announced a total of 200 million euros for the initiative. The scheme is officially underway as Cypriot finance minister Charilaos Stavrakis has already approved the first 30 loans for an average amount of 140,000 euros and totalled some 4.2 million euros.

Charilaos Stavrakis Commented: “30 loan applications have been approved within fifteen days after the announcement of the plan; particularly to young couples… the total amount of the approvals was over four million euros from the overall 200-million euro scheme”.

The Bank of Cyprus also has recently launched an 80% Loan to Value and provides a two year payment holiday scheme for off-plan purchases. The interest rate is also capped at 5% for the first three years. Now this scheme is only available for Cypriot residents and Industry experts believe that similar schemes to be rolled out to non residents in the coming months.

Steve Wright, managing director of Cherish Properties, suggested that Cyprus is experiencing strong growth. Cyprus has seen 20-30 per cent growth and it is now predicted to grow by around ten per cent a year, reports Birmingham Post.

The total number of loan approvals in the Cyprus domestic market accelerated in April, driven by property loans and loans to non financial organizations. The total value of loans stood at €44.52 billion which is up from €32.89 billion in April 2007. Property loans reached €8.73 billion in April which is also up considerably from the €6.33 billion in the corresponding month of 2007.

Investors are buoyed by the encouraging figures as the loans are clearly up from last year and Statistics on loans are typically used by real estate investors to predict the state of the market.

The property loan growth goes against all normal seasonal trends and may well reflect the encouraging growth of Cyprus’s economy which is growing at a faster rate than that of all the EU member states on average. Global Property Guide has said that despite a global economic slowdown, property in Cyprus continues to hold its value and is increasing in a faster pace. The country has seen the cost of property showing a rise of 13.26 per cent last year.

Recently the European Central Bank has praised the Authorities on the island for their effective handling of the currency changeover.