Residential house prices in Cyprus rose by 1.1% over the previous month in April, according to the BuySell Home Price Index, as the index reached 122.44 and brought the average home price in Cyprus to CYP 95,394 (EUR 196,680). Compared with the same month of 2006, prices rose by 9.6% in April, slightly lower than the 9.9% increase recorded in March. Data on building permits suggest that demand in Cyprus is being driven by residential customers and is being fuelled by both local and foreign buyers. The number of building permits authorised rose by 7.7% in 2006. The hedonic BuySell Home Price Index, which takes into account changes in the quality of housing, was created and is updated monthly on behalf of BuySell Cyprus Real Estate by MFC S. Platis. The index is announced during the second week of each month and depicts the movement of prices at which residential properties are sold in Cyprus, based on the extensive BuySell Cyprus Real Estate database. The BuySell Home Price Index was rebased in September 2005, in order to keep the Index updated with respect to the most recent quality characteristics of the housing market in Cyprus.
Source: Financial Mirror
