Growing demand for Nicosia, Limassol, Cyprus east coast properties

Property developers believe that the market is enjoying a mild recovery and demand is growing among locals for apartments and houses in Nicosia, holiday homes in Protaras and Ayia Napa and houses and apartments in Limassol, mostly from Cypriots and Russians.
George Mouskides, president of the newly-established Association of Property Developers and director of the Smart Fox Estate Agency, said that demand has been growing in the past few weeks, but this varies from district to district.
Mouskides said that demand was low for Larnaca and Paphos, with the exception of certain areas such as Pervolia where the interest is mostly from Cypriots.
He said that confidence is gradually returning because Cypriots are constantly on the lookout for bargains, banks revised their policies for property loans, the government plans for major public projects and efforts to boost the construction sector and the relevant rise of the Cyprus Stock Exchange in the past few weeks.
However, Yiorgos Mavreas, a property surveyor, said that despite the activity of the past few weeks, this does not mean that all are rosy.
“The economic crisis continues, the situation with tourism will only now become clearer and many have lost their jobs,” he said.
Both Mouskides and Mavreas agree that there is a drop in prices as regards holiday homes, due mainly to the oversupply of units in relation to the drop in demand from overseas buyers who are turning to other destinations.
The pressure imposed by the banks onto the property developers has also forced some prices down, while the biggest bargains are in the resale market with British expats returning home.
Property prices in the capital are generally stable with a minor drop in some areas of 5-10%. Some towns and villages, such as Tseri, Kokkinotrimithia and Lakatamia saw price drops of up to 15%. Other areas outside Nicosia, with the exception of Limassol, saw falls of 15-20% mostly in house and apartment resales.
Minas Xiouroupas of Stavrina Construction Developers said that prices for new properties will only stabilise after foreign-owned resales have been sold.
The Association of Property Developers has argued that the main problems hampering the property market are the excessive taxes of 15% VAT, 20% capitals gains and 8% transfer fees that make it very difficult for someone to complete an average of five transaction in a lifetime.
Other problems include the delay in the issue of title deeds, ranging from three years to 20 years in Protaras, lack of transparency in the zoning process and insufficient promotion of the property market overseas.