Cyprus' leading on-line resource for home buyers & real estate investors -

28th March 2024
Cyprus Property News logo
HomeInvestmentForeign buyers driving property recovery

Foreign buyers driving property recovery

Cyprus property market recoveryCYPRIOTS’ interest in the property market remains low, unlike foreigners who have been the driving force, leading the market to a significant rise during the past few months.

Cyprus’ Real Estate Agents Association Chairman Marinos Kynegirou has told the Cyprus News Agency that, despite announcements from the banks for attractive loans, lending has been particularly complicated and difficult, and as a result Cypriots’ preferable solution is renting amid difficult economic conditions. At the same time, Cypriots who have money appear to be hesitant to buy property due to the recent financial crisis.

However he noted that there is a significant rise in the demand by foreigners, which as Kynegirou says, is expected to gradually push upwards real estate prices. Kynegirou believes that now is a good period for someone to invest in real estate, as the prices have stabilised and deposit rates offered by banks are almost nil.

He pointed out that in order to boost the market, the banks must facilitate more the applicants.

“The banks used to lend everyone in the past, while now they give everybody a hard time for any kind of loan” he said.

Foreigners who bring money from abroad and want to open an account with a Cypriot bank also face difficulties, he added. Kynegirou said that in this respect, the banks have gone from one extreme to the other but they have to become more accessible. He noted that it is much easier to transfer money from abroad to a foreign bank operating in Cyprus, rather than to a Cypriot bank.

The incentives provided by the Interior Ministry, mainly to attract foreign buyers, seem to have been the catalyst that pushed up the property sales, according to the Chairman of the Cyprus Real Estates Agents Association.

“Foreigners buy, they have trusted the real estate market in Cyprus,” he said, adding that Russians, Chinese and Arabs are interested in buying real property in all the cities.

Russians are mostly interested in buying in Limassol, whereas Arabs eye the city of Larnaca. Paphos attracts mostly Russians and Chinese. The interest for the capital Nicosia is much lower.

Kynegirou said that sales of properties in August rose by 50% compared to the same month in 2015, while in the first eight months of 2016 there was an increase of 30% compared to the corresponding period last year. Sales to foreigners increased by 16.6% in the first eight months of 2016.

He precluded the possibility of a new property bubble in the future, explaining that the events that have led property prices to soar before the crisis, such as Cyprus’ access to the EU, cannot be repeated.

RELATED ARTICLES

2 COMMENTS

  1. The banks have been a massive part in this problem. The CCPS has been through the courts and admitted that contracts drawn up by such banks as Alpha Bank were grossly unfair towards buyers and deemed them illegal.

    The banks sold multi complex mortgages such as the Swiss Franc, to buyers with terms and conditions that were never explained or in fact they never even gave people a cooling off period to see if they wanted to accept these terms. The banks happily took draw downs even when people were telling them the build progress was not where it should be, but they told people” we have our own independent surveyors and they say everything is OK (even though some developments were years behind). So No wonder British investors stopped/won’t pay!

    British buyers have been duped by so called independent lawyers and dodgy certifying officers who en mass signed illegal POA. With property shows such as Place In The Sun being targeted by wronged investors warning British people not to buy in Cyprus (and according to a certain Cypriot builder, he had his worst shows and sales he’s ever had because of those demonstrations).

    So now it’s the turn of the Chinese and Russians to be duped.

    Ed: The CCPS did not deem the the CHF loan agreements were illegal – it found that they contained a number of clauses that the CCPS deemed unfair.

    The Alpha Bank appealed the CCPS decision to the Supreme Court, which ruled that the CCPS’s decision was not binding on the Alpha Bank – and dismissed the appeal.

    The Law Office is going to apply to the District Court to have an order issued against Alpha Bank to prohibit the bank from using the terms found unfair in the Director’s decision.

    The CCPS decision should give added weight to those taking legal action against the Alpha Bank.

Comments are closed.

Top Stories

Sign up to receive our free newsletter

We handle your data responsibly, find more about our privacy policy

Cyprus property transfer fees

Elsewhere in Cyprus Property News

EUR - Euro Member Countries
GBP
1.1684
RUB
0.0101
CNY
0.1285
CHF
1.0436

Property capital gains tax (CGT) calculator