We Know Property

According to a current Knight Frank global survey of property trends, it’s been established that property prices in Cyprus have increased by 12.5 percent in the second quarter of 2008.

With the dramatic credit crunch sweeping across the globe Cyprus appears to have steered clear of and problems as they have recorded an increase in house prices.

A number of factors have contributed to this increase. It was first considered to be Cyprus’s succession to the European Union in 2004 along with the introduction of the euro currency in Jan 2008. This was followed by the introduction of 15 percent VAT on land deals which were reported to have improved the property market. Recently, the merging talks are believed to be continuing the property market growth.

Paul Collins, editor of overseas property magazine Buy Association believes it is the island nation’s inherent attraction as a property destination. ‘It’s always been a popular destination for people who are looking to emigrate away from the UK. And quite often what we see  in times of economic, political or even social turbulence in the UK, it tends to galvanise people’s decisions to move overseas permanently to emigrate and/or to retire,’ he said.

In Mr. Collins’ opinion, if the Cypriot economy does not suffer like others, there is no reason why its property market should drop. If recent reports are anything to go by, Cyprus is actually gaining from the weakened economic conditions of its European neighbours.