Property: One of the safest investments in Cyprus?

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BY GEORGE MOUSKIDES

Yes, we will say it clearly from the start. Property is one of the safest investments; it is not a coincidence that Cypriots have always been investing in property and parting with it with great difficultly.
Conservative investors lose their sleep over stock market investments as portrayed by the recent rollercoaster behaviour witnessed at the Cyprus Stock Exchange, whereby within a period of three days we had a drop in share prices to the tune of 20% after a still bigger rise that preceded it and a still bigger drop before that.
The greater stability of real estate prices in Cyprus is further reinforced by the fact that while we experienced the worse international economic crisis in decades, that has negatively impacted Cyprus, properties favoured by Cypriot investors has more or less retained its value; properties addressed to foreign buyers, especially the British, have suffered more, as the UK economy is in trouble and the British pound parity against the Euro turned south.
Nicosia is a good example; despite experiencing the biggest crisis in the property sector since the Turkish invasion, the reduction in prices is quite minimal.
An investor who is willing to take only moderate risks (probably representing the majority of Cypriot investors) should mainly invest in property. And this for the simple reason that apart from the gains that he will get from the appreciation in the value of property over time, he will also get an income from rents, if for example he invested in a flat or a house; the rental yield should exceed 5% annually on the initial investment.
Concluding, an investment in property offers stability in the growth of the invested capital and income that allows a family to plan for the future whether it concerns the education costs of children, or the retirement needs, etc.

George Mouskides is Chairman of the Association for the Promotion of Property Development and Manager, FOX Smart Estate Agency