PROPERTY investment in Cyprus is becoming increasingly appealing to investors worldwide, with economic conditions now improving at an impressive rate and the prospective adoption of the euro drawing huge interest from foreign investors. Cyprus adopts the euro in January 2008.

Peter Christofi, an overseas marketing manager for Antonis Loizou and Associates, says the property market would benefit enormously from the move.

“This is great news for Cyprus. Adoption of the euro is the final fence in becoming part of a united Europe. Cyprus is now stronger than ever and with the proposed adoption date of January 1, 2008 this can only bode well for the property market as more and more investors look to purchase property in this tried and tested island in the Eastern Mediterranean,” he was quoted as saying by newskys.co.uk.

Christofi said property prices within the country were currently rising at a staggering rate of up to 20 per cent annually. As such, investors are finding they can make bigger gains on their property in Cyprus than in France or Spain.

Cyprus has long been a favourite among UK tourists and investors and it also has an enviable reputation for attracting repeat visitors. A growing number of UK residents are looking to the island for a holiday home, many more decide to retire here and thousands are taking advantage of good investment conditions.

According to Christophi, this special affinity is down to the fact that the basic infrastructure in Cyprus is not dissimilar to that of the UK.

While investing in some countries can be daunting because of basic communication difficulties, English is spoken by a significant proportion of the population in Cyprus, while the land registry system differs only marginally from that within the UK. All of this is crucial in making the task of buying and selling a property or making a buy-to-let investment all the more comfortable.

The President of the Cyprus Council of Real Estate Agents said that despite prices rising rapidly over the past few years, there was no chance of a slump. Dinos Sotiriou told the Cyprus Mail that, “Cyprus is only a small country and everybody here wants to invest in their own properties. Prices on the island are lower than in many other European countries, while the quality of homes is very high.”

But he disagreed with the figures given by Christofi, saying house prices had recently started to stabilise after three to four years of growth at a rate of 10 to 15 per cent a year.

Economist Costas Apostolides, chairman of Economic Management Limited, agreed.
“The economy has now steadied and is recovering from slow growth. The property market is competitive within the framework of the mature economy,” he said. “It’s not an issue of a bargain but of good value.”

He added that, “there has never been a property slump resulting from a recession in Cyprus. There have been blips, but these have been due to other factors. This is not the UK where it can all come crashing down after years of growth.”