Property investment in Cyprus is becoming increasingly appealing to investors worldwide, with a favourable economy where GDP rose by 3.8% in 2005, low inflation and low unemployment and the prospective adoption of the Euro 1 January 2008 drawing record interest from foreign investors.
Peter Christofi, marketing manager for Antonis Loizou & Associates, a firm of Chartered Surveyors and Valuers, agreed with this sentiment and said that 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 1st 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 said.
Mr Christofi went on to say that property prices within the country are currently rising at a staggering rate of up 20% annually. As such, investors are finding they can make bigger gains on their property in Cyprus than in France or Spain , while growth rates and the re-sale market in Bulgaria can still be unpredictable.
Dominic Farrell, a director of InvestinCyprus.com cites the English based legal and banking systems as a reassuring feature when investing in Cyprus . “Ninety-five per cent of Cypriot law is English law which gives the investor or homebuyer the confidence of a robust, tried and tested legal system which has all the necessary safeguards, particularly when defining ownership and title issues.”
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 jet-to-let investment all the more comfortable.
Jet-to-let investment opportunities in Cyprus are in fact particularly strong, with rental yields of around 8%. It is a figure that is clearly attracting UK investors in hordes as they look for returns competitive with if not better than those in Spain .
