Why Invest

Overseas Property Investment

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Snapshot Profile

'STEP' Country Profile

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Why Invest

The Cypriot landscape, combined with an ideal climate, friendly culture and people, relative low cost compared to other EU countries, and prospering economy, makes Cyprus a first choice for the savvy investor looking for a place in the Sun or the for the even luckier people who have decided on Cyprus as their retirement home

Growth in Tourism

Strong tourist ties with GB, driving strong rental potential
Rising tourist numbers. Larnaca airport has seen passenger numbers nearly double in 10 years (between 1990 and 2000). A new terminal is being built and is expected to be complete d in 2008 which will enable it to handle 7.5 million passengers p.a. (trebling the capacity), the target set by government to be reached over the coming 10 years.
Travel and tourism is expected to generate $5,955.7m of economic activity in 2007 +2.6% (Accenture)
English language spoken widely
Fantastic climate, 300 + days of sunshine
Beach improvement scheme & plans for a further seven golf on the island, which will create stronger tourist traffic.
The Island is the 3rd largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily and Sardinia), so there is a decent-sized economy and population to drive a healthy property sector

Solid Infrastructure

Cyprus has an established infrastructure of roads, airports and ports. It's accession to the EU has been a key driver in improving communications and facilities, particularly in the medical and educational sectors

Politics / Economy

Booming economy
The possibility of a political resolution to the island’s divide (more medium to long term than short term), which would provide a significant boost to the island’s economy and in turn the property market
It is a European Union State-meaning legal and economic stability

Buoyant Property market

Cyprus’ investment property market is growing, but yet still significantly underdeveloped
Property prices are still significantly lower than in other competing property markets such as Spain, Portugal, France and as such can offer significant return on investment. The market is not yet fully developed, so price comparisons with the rest of Europe are significantly less.
Since joining the EU property prices have increased 15-20% pa. Property values in Cyprus have more than doubled in price over the last 5 years
In January 2008, the Euro will be introduced in Cyprus so there should be considerable capital appreciation.
Gross rental yields have averaged between 7-10%. The rental on a 3-bed villa by the sea is approximately CY£20,000 pa, giving a return of 11% p.a (plus the capital growth above)
Availability of financing property purchases is becoming easier
Property law is based on English common law, so will be familiar to UK-based investors
Year round climate, means that there are possibilities of long-term year-round rentals, sometimes know as a “snowbird” location
Cyprus has strict building regulations aimed to prevent overdevelopment. A prime example is that no residential building can be higher than three storeys. Many countries do not have such building controls.
Demand is strong and expected to stay strong well into 2007, with the average increase in prices seen at 20%

- some 20% of Cyprus' annual property sales are being made by foreigners. Another reason is the rush to beat the 15% VAT on land dealings, which is set to come into force from January 1, 2008. (According to Solomon Kourouklides, Chairman of the Real Estate Agents Association)

Just like central Europe, there are a lot of people living in towns and cities such as Nicosia, in what are essentially sub- standard accommodation. Five years ago building regulations were poor. Nowadays they are on parity with western ones. So this creates demand for quality housing

Accessibility

There is easy accessibility to Cyprus with flights from Gatwick, Heathrow, Birmingham, Manchester, Luton and most regional airports, to either of the international airports Paphos or Larnaca.
Cyprus is served by some 30 major airlines and there are regular flights to Paphos from across UK.
Whilst the flights are about 4 hours 30 minutes from the UK, these are still fairly short flight times considering the year round climate that would rival other far-off destinations around the world
Budget airlines are starting to make Cyprus more accessible, boosting Cyprus' growth as a key holiday and retiree market, the most important of which, by far, is the UK.

- Monarch Airlines now flies from Luton airport to Larnaca from March 26, offering a four day a week service to Cyprus, making the island a hot holiday destination. This will also introduce greater levels of price competitiveness.

Airlines running scheduled services to Cyprus include British Airways, KLM, Lufthansa, Aegean Airlines, Emirates and Cyprus Airways.
The many budget and charter options include Avro, Excel, ThomsonFly, Helios and First Choice, which fly from airports all over the UK, among them Exeter, Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester, Hull, East Midlands, Newcastle and Edinburgh.
There are no direct flights to northern Cyprus, which is not recognised by the international community, so all flights go via Turkey. Crossing the border is not a simple task, however - most taxis refuse to do the crossing - so if you're heading for the south, it's best to fly straight there.

Growth in Tourism

Strong tourist ties with GB, driving strong rental potential

Travel and tourism is expected to generate $5,955.7m of economic activity in 2007 +2.6% (Accenture)

English language spoken widely

Fantastic climate, 300 + days of sunshine

Beach improvement scheme & plans for a further seven golf on the island, which will create stronger tourist traffic.

The Island is the 3rd largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily and Sardinia), so there is a decent-sized economy and population to drive a healthy property sector

Solid Infrastructure

Cyprus has an established infrastructure of roads, airports and ports. It's accession to the EU has been a key driver in improving communications and facilities, particularly in the medical and educational sectors

Politics / Economy

Booming economy

The possibility of a political resolution to the island’s divide (more medium to long term than short term), which would provide a significant boost to the island’s economy and in turn the property market

Buoyant Property market

Cyprus’ investment property market is growing, but yet still significantly underdeveloped

Property prices are still significantly lower than in other competing property markets such as Spain, Portugal, France and as such can offer significant return on investment. The market is not yet fully developed, so price comparisons with the rest of Europe are significantly less.

Since joining the EU property prices have increased 15-20% pa. Property values in Cyprus have more than doubled in price over the last 5 years

In January 2008, the Euro will be introduced in Cyprus so there should be considerable capital appreciation.

Gross rental yields have averaged between 7-10%. The rental on a 3-bed villa by the sea is approximately CY£20,000 pa, giving a return of 11% p.a (plus the capital growth above)

Availability of financing property purchases is becoming easier

Property law is based on English common law, so will be familiar to UK-based investors

Year round climate, means that there are possibilities of long-term year-round rentals, sometimes know as a “snowbird” location

Cyprus has strict building regulations aimed to prevent overdevelopment. A prime example is that no residential building can be higher than three storeys. Many countries do not have such building controls.

Demand is strong and expected to stay strong well into 2007, with the average increase in prices seen at 20%

- some 20% of Cyprus' annual property sales are being made by foreigners. Another reason is the rush to beat the 15% VAT on land dealings, which is set to come into force from January 1, 2008. (According to Solomon Kourouklides, Chairman of the Real Estate Agents Association)

Just like central Europe, there are a lot of people living in towns and cities such as Nicosia, in what are essentially sub- standard accommodation. Five years ago building regulations were poor. Nowadays they are on parity with western ones. So this creates demand for quality housing

Accessibility

There is easy accessibility to Cyprus with flights from Gatwick, Heathrow, Birmingham, Manchester, Luton and most regional airports, to either of the international airports Paphos or Larnaca.

Cyprus is served by some 30 major airlines and there are regular flights to Paphos from across UK.

Whilst the flights are about 4 hours 30 minutes from the UK, these are still fairly short flight times considering the year round climate that would rival other far-off destinations around the world

Budget airlines are starting to make Cyprus more accessible, boosting Cyprus' growth as a key holiday and retiree market, the most important of which, by far, is the UK.

- Monarch Airlines now flies from Luton airport to Larnaca from March 26, offering a four day a week service to Cyprus, making the island a hot holiday destination. This will also introduce greater levels of price competitiveness.

Airlines running scheduled services to Cyprus include British Airways, KLM, Lufthansa, Aegean Airlines, Emirates and Cyprus Airways.

The many budget and charter options include Avro, Excel, ThomsonFly, Helios and First Choice, which fly from airports all over the UK, among them Exeter, Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester, Hull, East Midlands, Newcastle and Edinburgh.

There are no direct flights to northern Cyprus, which is not recognised by the international community, so all flights go via Turkey. Crossing the border is not a simple task, however - most taxis refuse to do the crossing - so if you're heading for the south, it's best to fly straight there.