While uncertainties remain, the Cyprus property market will continue to strengthen, with once-neglected Larnaca appearing as the most attractive town for investments in real estate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An industry survey carried out by Danos\/BNPRE Group<\/em> reveals that Larnaca will be at the forefront of the property market, seeing an overdue boom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDevelopers, real estate agents and property valuers all agree that Larnaca is the place to invest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe town has everything going for it, with more attractive prices, while infrastructure projects underway will definitely be breathing new life into the city,\u201d said Danos\/BNPRE Group CEO Panos Danos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The survey revealed, almost four in ten real estate stakeholders believe Larnaca is the city with the\u00a0better bargains\u00a0for property development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Larnaca topped the chart with 38.9%, leaving Limassol, once the epicentre of property development, trailing on 33.3%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDespite attracting the majority of Cypriots planning to buy a home, developers feel that Nicosia properties are not as profitable as the coastal areas, garnering just 11% of stakeholders\u2019 votes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLarnaca has a lot to offer. Land is cheaper, while projects such as towers, hotels and the new marina and port in the pipeline will be a game-changer,\u201d said Danos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The long-awaited \u20ac1.2 bln redevelopment of Larnaca port and marina jumped the final hurdle in December, as the Cyprus government signed contracts with Cypriot-Israeli investors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n TUI welcomed its first tourists from Germany when the refurbished Robinson club resort in Alaminos, Larnaca, formerly the Aldiana, opened its doors last weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Airline division TUIfly enhanced its traffic to Cyprus by introducing direct flights from Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, and Hannover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The travel giant is adding more flights by the end of June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere are also hotels that have recently opened, such as the Radisson Blu, and the town set to see the opening of its first mall in the coming months.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Larnaca has overtaken Limassol as properties there are considered to be expensive compared to their potential return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cStakeholders participating in the survey were unanimous in finding that Limassol is overpriced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHowever, this does not mean that the market is saturated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, the end of the citizenship for investment scheme, and the way it ended, has reduced demand significantly, but stakeholders agree that Limassol still has potential,\u201d said Danos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tower projects underway should not face many challenges as close to 70% of apartments have already been sold and self-financed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Limassol is still attractive Forex companies on the lookout for an EU base or offices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Danos said that the Paphos market had been hit by the demise of the passport scheme, losing out on\u00a0Chinese investors\u00a0who were particularly active in the district.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFamagusta may see some movement from Cypriots looking to buy a summer home, but other than that, the market is not expected to see much movement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Famagusta did not get a vote of confidence from other stakeholders either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNicosia is expected to see an increase in activity, with 22% of stakeholders believing in the capital\u2019s potential, while 11% think that Nicosia has some good bargains to offer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The real estate industry in the capital is driven by Cypriots looking to buy a home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the study, 77.8% of Cypriot investors prefer to buy real estate through liquid funds and bank lending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n House prices are expected to rise by anything between 5-15%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nicosia and Limassol are gaining the trust of new investors, looking for offices but also shops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cElectric appliances giant Kotsovolos from Greece will be opening up shops both in Limassol and Nicosia this year, casting their vote of confidence on the Cypriot market,\u201d said Danos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As for foreign investors, the survey showed that most Cyprus properties are purchased by Russians \u2013 44.4% of all transactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They are followed by EU citizens \u2013 22.22%, the Middle East \u2013 16.7% and Asia \u2013 5.6%. Other regions account for about 16.7%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Big investments<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cyprus real estate could be further boosted by interest from foreign investors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the leading medical organisations globally, Hadassah Medical Ltd, is planning to create and operate a new state-of-the-art medical and hospital complex in Nicosia and Limassol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hadassah is reportedly planning to invest over \u20ac150 mln in the entire project for a hospital in the capital and a rehabilitation centre in Limassol, which is expected to open, respectively, in 2024 and 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAttracting foreign investors for property investments, as in the case of TUI and the Robinson resort, will be a challenge as land is more expensive compared to other Mediterranean countries such as Spain and Greece,\u201d said Danos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The cost of construction materials has increased by almost 20%, which means that either prices will go up or developers will be absorbing part of the increase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have yet to see the impact of rising costs, as we have yet to feel the full impact of the demise of the passport for investment scheme.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the survey, Cyprus is not on the list of countries Europeans would consider relocating to after retirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just one in seven Germans would consider relocating to southern Europe; none of them said Cyprus would be a choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, some 86.7% of stakeholders said the industry was severely affected by the\u00a0COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe tourism sector has had a rough couple of seasons, with no one being sure of how the pandemic will evolve from here on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPaphos lost its Chinese investors due to the demise of the passport scheme and COVID-19, as China has closed its borders to the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOne of the complaints we often hear from interested parties is that they get tangled up in Cyprus red tape. We need to push forward with digitalising our economy and services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA digitalised economy leaves little room for corruption.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Property sales in 2020 fell by 23% compared to 2019, while almost all of last year experienced lockdowns, semi-lockdowns, travelling restrictions and huge uncertainty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite this environment, sales in 2020 were above 2016 by nearly 13% while declining just 9% from 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In contrast with the widespread belief that the market and rental values would collapse, prices have instead held quite well (RICS Cyprus & Central Bank Residential Indices).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Source: financialmirror.com<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" While uncertainties remain, the Cyprus property market will continue to strengthen, with once-neglected Larnaca appearing as the most attractive town for investments in real estate. An industry survey carried out by Danos\/BNPRE Group reveals that Larnaca will be at the forefront of the property market, seeing an overdue boom. \u201cDevelopers, real estate agents and property valuers all… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":2608543,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n