Cyprus

Cyprus enjoyed a three-year housing boom until 2008. Then the market began to fall, mainly because of lower demand from British buyers, who comprise around 70% of all foreign buyers in Cyprus. The UK recession, and the weakening of the pound against the euro, prompted British buyers to look for non-Euro destinations.

Residential property prices have fallen by as much as 20% and 30% in the past three years, with the most affected being Paphos, Sotira and other areas popular with foreign holidaymakers and retirees, according to real estate valuer Anthonis Loizou.  There are no long-term house price statistics in Cyprus, though the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS-Cyprus) released its first Property Price Index for Cyprus in Q1 2010.

Areas that rely on local buyers, mainly from Nicosia, have been doing relatively better, with prices in Protaras and west of Larnaca (Pervolia, Kiti, Tersefanou) recording smaller drops. The Department of Lands and Surveys registering an average increase this year of 20% in property sales volumes in Cypriot-oriented areas such as Paphos, Limassol, Nicosia, and Larnaca.

EU nationals who are residents in Cyprus may own as much property as they wish. Non-resident EU nationals may own as much land as they wish, but if they wish to buy any other sort of property, ownership is restricted to one house or one apartment for which approval from the ‘Council of Ministers’ is needed.

Regardless of their residency status, non-EU nationals must seek the approval of the Council of Ministers before they can own any type of immovable property. Furthermore, unless there are exceptional circumstances, their ownership will be limited to: an apartment, a house, a building plot or land up to approximately three donums (4,014 sq. m.).

Owners wishing to rent their property to the tourist market should seek a permit from the Cyprus Tourism Organisation.

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