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29th March 2024
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HomeInvestmentOverseas investors taking more interest in Cyprus

Overseas investors taking more interest in Cyprus

CYPRUS’ popularity as a destination for overseas property investors has increased according to the October ‘Top of the Props’ chart published by themovechannel.com, which looks at the number of on-line enquiries for property in different countries around the world.

The most popular investment destination for overseas property investors in October was Spain, with the USA in second place. These were followed by France and Portugal, in third and fourth places, followed by Italy, Turkey and Cyprus. The remaining three places are taken by Thailand, Bulgaria and Brazil.

The full breakdown of the Top 40 from TheMoveChannel.com is as follows:

RankCountryShareChange
1Spain18.01Non-mover
2USA9.27Up 2
3France7.93Down 1
4Portugal6.86Down 1
5Italy6.29Non-mover
6Turkey4.07Up 1
7Cyprus3.65Up 4
8Thailand3.17Up 7
9Bulgaria2.77Down 3
10Brazil2.67Down 2
11Greece2.33Up 1
12Malta2.23Up 2
13Barbados2.02Up 4
14Germany2.02Down 4
15Morocco1.84Down 6
16Egypt1.66Up 3
17Cape Verde1.61Up 4
18Poland1.19Up 2
19India1.01Down 3
20Switzerland1.01Up 7
21Hungary0.96Up 2
22Cayman Islands0.95Non-mover
23UAE0.95Up 5
24Croatia0.8Down 6
25Canada0.8Down 12
26Slovenia0.74Down 1
27Mexico0.68Up 13
28Australia0.49Down 4
29St Lucia0.43Down 3
30Jamaica0.41Up 1
31Indonesia0.38Down 1
32Montenegro0.35Down 3
33Malaysia0.2Up 8
34Austria0.19Up 2
35St Vincent and Grenadines0.19
36Albania0.18Down 1
37Singapore0.18
38Lithuania0.16
39Belize0.15
40Philippines0.15Down 1

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7 COMMENTS

  1. @Denis – I agree with you that developers cannot obtain a Certificate of Final Completion before buyers take up occupancy as required under the provisions of Article 10 of the Streets and Buildings Regulations Law, Cap. 96 (unless they are prepared to have their properties standing empty until the Planning Authorities carry out the necessary inspection). I know that a number of people in Paphos have been summonsed to appear in court on more than one occasion for breaking this law.

    As for the Town Planning Amnesty – providing the extent of overbuilding is within the parameters set out in the law, buyers can apply for a Certificate of Final Approval and then a Title Deed that will not be tainted.

    However, they will run into problems if the extent of any overbuilding is greater than that allowed under the provisions of the Town Planning Amnesty – or if the infringements are considered to be ‘significant’ (a term that has not been defined). In such cases there is a risk that a Certificate of Unauthorised Works will be issued which will result in a ‘tainted’ Title Deed being that will prevent the affected property being sold, transferred, mortgaged, etc. until the problem has been corrected (which could involve the part of total demolition of the property).

    I know of some people whose developer has far exceeded the building density. These have been advised by myself, and the architect they employed to assess the situation, NOT to apply under the Amnesty. Their only hope is to sue their developers and/or wait until the zoning of their area is reassessed.

    No-one can guarantee the future well-being of any company – even the banks are having serious problems which are partly due to the way they have extended credit to property developers and advanced mortgages to those buying a house.

    I agree that the only sensible option is to buy a property that has already been issued with its Title Deed. But even that is not 100% safe if the present owner has extended the property or if the developer somehow managed to get a Certificate of Final Completion even though the build is illegal. (I received a report of a case like this quite recently). However, it remains the option with the least risk.

    But there are still those who are prepared to take a risk and providing they are fully aware of the risks they are taking and are prepared to accept those risks, who am I to stop them.

  2. @ Nigel

    Would you agree that practically in Cyprus no developer (no matter how supposedly good) can obtain a Certificate of Final Completion before a buyer takes up occupancy as required by law? And furthermore that under new permanent provisions in the law, as a result of the Amnesty, that the buyers could potentially be presented with a tainted title deed. Which of course would be impossible if the Completion Certificate law was enforced.

    How many developer or lawyers would inform the buyers of this material fact and also the fact that they will be breaking criminal law by occupying the property?

    Given that the buyer would then have to wait for some while for title deeds they are at the mercy of the developer’s continued financial well-being until the deeds are eventually issued.

    Even if (and this is a big if) a lawyer could check into the financial standing of a developer at the time of the purchase how can they guarantee this will be the case until deeds are issued?

    What we do know is that the industry is highly indebted, that sales, and therefore incomes, have collapsed and what we are seeing from the latest N50 searches is a growing number of creditors’ claims being registered against developer title deeds.

    Buying new property is getting more and more risky by the day and as far as I am concerned a reliable and independent lawyer, no matter how good, cannot guarantee the future issue of title deeds.

    Your suggested ‘safest bet’ – a title-deeded resale is the only option which should be considered.

  3. @ Nigel therein lies the problem. I suspect that most people who are now facing Title Deed related problems, used what they believed to be an honest reliable Lawyer.

  4. @Andrew – many of the problems associated with buying property can be avoided by taking legal advice from a reliable, independent lawyer.

    There are some good developers here who play fair and who will not try to cheat you and empty your wallet.

    I don’t wish to give the impression that everything is OK.

    If people are thinking of buying here who have any doubts, their safest bet is to buy a resale property that has been issued with its all-important Title Deed. That way any risks there may be will be minimised.

  5. Buying in Cyprus, without receiving title deeds at the point of sale, leaves the prospective purchaser exposed to the banks in way akin to being a white farmer in Zimbabwe.

    It is fraught with untold danger.

  6. They will if they can use the internet Robert in spite of the efforts of some in Cyprus to have postings removed if it blackened their good names.

    Hopefully any buyers will:

    – not rely on assurances of IFA’s that they have conducted the due diligence,

    – ensure that the mortgage details are clearly stated upfront prior to agreement,

    – understand that VAT refunds are not available unless they meet strict criteria,

    – will secure a truly independent lawyer who acts properly in their interest and explains exactly what he is doing and what agreements are being entered into,

    – will buy from a developer that is honest, provides what he says he will provide and if he provides property management undertake this honestly and with true transparent accounting.

    If all of the above are satisfied then the buyer has a chance but no doubt there are some as we write looking for other ways & mechanisms in which to profit at others expense.

    Caveat emptor!

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