Cyprus Property Market Overview

Cyprus (Southern)

The economy of Cyprus is primarily driven by tourism. It’s year round good weather and close proximity to the rest of Europe make it a sought after destination, which is becoming increasingly accessible with the arrival of cheap flights.

Many of the islands inhabitants speak English, their legal system is similar to that in the UK and taxes are low (e.g. 5% tax on pension income).

For these reasons Cyprus is a popular place for both investors and second home owners to buy property.

Supply of property is naturally restricted to some extent and the resale market is more developed that some other sunshine destination markets.

With a buoyant economy and steady demand, prices have risen well over the last few years on both property and land (driven by changes in the VAT rules). Though it is debatable how long this growth can continue for.

Mortgage finance has traditionally been quite good though over the last year conditions have toughen up considerably making it much harder for investors.

Most people tend to buy property on the coast in places such as the more upmarket Paphos in the west to less desirable towns and resorts further east such as Limosol and Paralimni.

Many of these areas have seen so much building they are over supplied and thus we would not recommend investing here.

If you can get good local advice perhaps the best places to invest in Cyprus would be in the major cities, such as Nicosia, why are more driven by solid economic fundamentals than the weather.


Cyprus (Northern)

The northern part of Cyprus still has a long way to go before it becomes investable as political resolution is a not an immediate possibility.

The risks are large, land title issues abound and there is no mortgage finance, not to mention resale and rental problems. Avoid completely.