Price reductions will draw investors to Cyprus
Despite going through a chaotic few years which has seen prices fall by as much as 40 per cent in some regions, the appeal of Cypriot properties is unlikely to fade for many Brits. However, Property prices and rents across the major urban areas of Cyprus continued to fall during the second quarter of 2011.
According to the seventh issue of the RICS (Cyprus) Property Price Index, average residential prices for houses and apartments fell by 1.0% and 2.7% respectively. Average rental values for apartments fell by 3.1%, retail units by 4.1%, warehouses by 5.4%, and offices by 2.0%. In contrast, rents for houses rose by 1.3%. Figures from the Land Registries across Cyprus reveal that the number of properties sold fell for the 16th consecutive month in October; the rate of the fall appears to be slowing. The area hit hardest by the decline is Larnaca, where sales slumped 27%. In Paphos they are down 22% and in Famagusta they have fallen 15%. Limassol seems to be weathering the crisis well with sales falling by just 0.2% over the year which has been attributed to an influx of Russian buyers.
Property experts believe the country’s favorable lifestyle and climate will continue to prove tempting to emigrating Brits. A large number of potential homeowners in the country are hoping to take advantage of the low prices which are currently on offer, as a result of the market crash.
Property valuer Polys Kourousides believes that the things will change in the next few months. He said that Limassol recorded an increase in August due to the purchase of properties by non-Cypriots, Russians mostly. Parliament’s approval of the draft law on the suspension/reduction in Property Transfer Fees will make a positive contribution to the market and it was actually one of the proposals made by the Valuers’ Association three years ago.
Meanwhile, The Vice Chairman and spokesman for the Real Estate Agents’ Association, Solomon Kourouklides, said that the biggest problem is the lack of liquidity and that the measures cannot change the market by themselves; further incentives are needed.
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