The property market in Cyprus has been tough over the last couple of years. The global economic crisis has hit property prices and sales whilst some well publicised problems with title deed legislation have negatively affected overseas interest in Cyprus property.
Estate agents have been redoubling their efforts to attract overseas investors to Cypriot Property , although new figures show that they have had limited success so far.
Overseas buyer numbers continue to fall
Despite agents wooing overseas investors, the number of foreign property investors in Cyprus continues to fall. The latest research from the Cypriot Department for Lands and Surveys showed that there were 127 transactions completed by overseas purchasers in August 2010, compared to 167 in July.
However, the overall picture is healthier. Figures from the Estate Agents Association of Cyprus show that there has been a 2.7 per cent increase in the total sales to foreigners over the course of the year.
And, some areas have performed significantly better. For example, sales to overseas buyers in the country’s capital Nicosia have risen by 55 per cent this year.
Transaction levels blamed on economic conditions
Solomon Kourouklides, chairman of the Estate Agents Association of Cyprus said: “The negative economic condition in the United Kingdom, Cyprus’ main market, does not allow the purchase of properties by the British, while the drop in the property prices in the UK contributes negatively too.”
A recent study from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors also found that property prices fell in the country in the first half of 2010. Values in Cyprus fell by 4.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2010 and by 2.5 per cent from April to June. The RICS index said, “Towards the end of the second quarter there were some early signs of stabilisation, with local buyers returning to the market taking advantage of lower prices for holiday homes.”
So, with title deed legislation in the pipeline, prices stabilising and estate agents continuing to focus their efforts on overseas buyers, could Cyprus soon become the place to buy?
