Manhattan skyline for Limassol?

Nigel Howarth
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High rise buildings in Limassol Cyprus
Manhattan Skyline

THE SKYLINE of Limassol, which already boasts the highest commercial building in Cyprus, is set to be dominated by high-rise buildings in the coming years.

The Oval is currently the tallest commercial building in Cyprus at 16 floors, with 2 underground parking areas. Just a few metres from the sea it is also close to Limassol’s town centre and will soon be joined a number of other high-rise developments, including:

At 37 floors and 137 metres, the Limassol ‘One’ is set to become the tallest residential seafront tower in Europe. According to reports it will comprise of 84 residences with a starting price of €1,855,000 (excluding VAT) and commercial units and a restaurant on the ground floor. Anticipated delivery date is Q4 2018.

A second development , the ‘Landmark’ will be a mixed-use 30 floor development next to the Limassol zoo comprising 233 apartments, spa, fitness centre, lobby and business centre – and a plaza around which 14 commercial units will be developed.

The 59,000m2 ‘Lanitis Seafront’ project is to be built on the site of the old Lanitis mansion. It will consist of three tower blocks, the highest of which will have 37 floors. It will comprise 297 apartments, 10,000m2 of office space and 1,800m2 of commercial space.  Three swimming pools are planned, as well as green areas and 1,500 parking spaces of which 900 will be open to the public. The project will be carried out in three phases and is expected to be completed in 2023.

Construction of the ‘Limassol Del Mar’ project on 34,000m2 of seafront land at Germasogeia has started. When completed it will provide 168 properties with hotel-style facilities and services, clubhouse, gym, spa, tennis court, indoor and outdoor swimming pools and high-end shopping facilities. The first phase of the project, which includes 81 apartments and 31 commercial units, should be completed in 2017. The second phase of the project, which includes a 27-floor, 87 apartment building is planned for completion in 2020.

The ‘Halcyon Hotel’ on a 22,912m2 beachfront land at Ayia Varvara is expected to be operational in spring 2018. The 5 star hotel complex will consist of 183 rooms, 11 executive suites, 9 apartments and 14 villas.

The ‘iHome’, which is currently being built on 5,942m2 of land opposite the Poseidonia Hotel and the Limassol Sailing Club, will provide 28 properties in two tower blocks reaching 82 metres and 70 metres respectively.

The Four Season Hotel’s 10-floor apartment block that is being constructed next to the hotel will offer a choice of apartments from one-bedroom to a five-bedroom duplex and is expected to be completed shortly.

Planning permission is being sought for a 15-floor tower block and a 16-floor tower block in Germasogeia – and permission is awaited for a twin 25-floor project to replace the Golden Arches Hotel in the Amathunda area.

Meanwhile the Environmental Impact Board is looking at the impact of two buildings of 18 floors and 11 floors for construction on the site of the former Pavemar Hotel.

As the video from the Cyprus Mail below reveals some 20 to 30 high rise buildings are being planned for Limassol, many of which will be on the beach road. There has been very little (if any) public consultation and concerns over who is going to buy them, their impact on the infrastructure and the general aesthetics of the town.

[youtube= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7T6i00vrKU&w=470&rel=0]

Chinese investors boost construction sector

Staff Reporter
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Chinese investors boost construction sector

Chinese investors boost Cyprus construction sectorCHINESE investors have contributed to a large extent to the revival of the construction sector in Cyprus following its collapse after the 2013 economic crisis, an expert in the property market said on Thursday.

Kyriakos Talatinis, president of Cyprus Association of Valuers and Property Consultants, told Xinhua that investment by Chinese in the Paphos area was one of the reasons the property market jumped 40 percent in 2016 compared to 2015.

He said that the Paphos area in western Cyprus attracted mostly Chinese buyers as property developers from this region were the first to visit China to attract customers after the Cyprus’s 10-billion-euro bailout in March 2013.

“As early as 2013, Chinese people started buying property in Paphos,” he said.

Data showed that contracts for property transactions submitted to the land registry department reached 7,063, an increase of 43 percent in 2016 for the eastern Mediterranean island.

“Not all regions benefited by the same ratio. Land development in Limassol went up by 59 percent, and by 40 percent in Paphos. Demand came mostly from foreign purchasers and especially in Paphos from Chinese buyers,” Talatinis said.

Land registry department data showed that in 2016 there had been 295 completed purchases by foreigners in Paphos out of a total of 958 for the whole of Cyprus and another 627 sale agreements in which the buyers are non-Cypriots had been filed with the land registry department, out of a total of 1,183.

Filing a sale contract with the land registry department is a guarantee for the purchaser that the same property cannot be legally sold more than once.

Talatinis said that for the size of Cyprus and its economy, even one-half of these would have made an impact.

But home buying is still far behind its 2008 peak, the year Cyprus joined the eurozone, when a total of 16,000 contracts were filed with the land registry department.

Talatinis said prices are still down to between 70 and 75 percent relative to 2008 but there is a fluctuation between regions. Prices for sea-side properties in Limassol and Paphos are close of even above those of 2008 due to foreign demand, but in other areas are still depressed.

The Federation of Associations of Building Contractors Cyprus said the increase in construction is continuing in 2017.

The association president, Costas Roushas, said data showed that building activity increased by 23 percent in the first two months this year relative to the same period in 2016, on top of an increase of 21 percent for the whole of last year.

Roushas said a factor which helped the construction of new houses was a cut of 50 percent in transfer fees introduced last year by the government.

He said that reducing value added tax on the purchase of houses to 5 percent from the current level of 19 percent could boost even more the construction sector.

Roushas said that a considerable part of the activity is due to the construction of high-rise luxury buildings in Limassol offering luxury apartment and office space.

At least three complexes up to 30 floors high are under construction along the sea-front of the city. (1 euro = 1.06 U.S. dollars)

©2017 Xinhua, english.news.cn. All rights reserved.

Sharp rise in new homes construction

Nigel Howarth
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Sharp rise in new homes construction

Sharp rise in new homes in CyprusTHE NUMBER of building permits authorised in January 2017 stood at 465 compared with the 356 authorised during the same period in the previous year; a rise of 30.6 per cent according to official figures released by the Cyprus Statistical Service.

The total value of these permits rose by 48.6% to €108.4 million compared to January 2016, while their total area rose by 27.5% to 88.4 thousand square metres.

During January 2017, building permits were issued for:

  • Residential buildings – 296 permits
  • Community residences – 2 permits
  • Non-residential buildings – 100 permits
  • Civil engineering projects – 24 permits
  • Division of plots of land – 35 permits
  • Road construction – 10 permits

Building permits for new homes

The 296 residential building permits approved in January provided for the construction of 381 new homes comprising 158 single houses and 223 multiple housing units (such as apartments, semis, townhouses and other residential complexes); an increase of 56.8% compared with January 2016 when building permits were issued for the construction of 241 new homes.

Building Permits Issued for the Construction of
New Homes (Number of Dwellings)

Month 2016
(Dwellings)		 2017
(Dwellings)		 Increase/
Decrease		 %age
Change
January 243 381 138 56.8%
Totals 243 381 138 56.8%

According to the Cyprus Statistical Service, building permits constitute a leading indicator of future activity in the construction sector.

Cyprus house prices up

Nigel Howarth
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Cyprus house prices up
cyprus house prices
House prices – annual rate of change for the euro area and the EU (%)

HOUSE PRICES, as measured by the House Price Index, rose 3.1% in Cyprus in the fourth of 2016 by compared with the previous quarter and by 2.8% compared with the fourth quarter of 2015.

The figures come from the statistics published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

In the EU as a whole, the House Price Index rose 4.7% in the fourth quarter of 2016 compared with the same quarter of 2015 and by 4.1% in the Euro area.

Among the Member States for which data are available, the highest annual increases in house prices in the fourth quarter of 2016 were recorded in the Czech Republic (+11.0%), Hungary (+9.7%) and Lithuania (+9.5%), while prices remained nearly stable in Italy (+0.1%).

Compared with the previous quarter, the highest increases were recorded in Malta (+6.0%), the Czech Republic (+4.7%), the Netherlands (+3.2%) and Cyprus (+3.1%), and the largest decreases in Denmark (-1.5%), Croatia (-0.6%) and Belgium (-0.4%).

Further reading

Eurostat news release 59/2017 – 7 April 2017

Property sales improve in March

Nigel Howarth
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0
Property sales improve in March

Cyprus property sales improve in MarchTHE NUMBER of property sales in Cyprus during March rose 16 per cent compared to March 2016 according to official statistics published by the Department of Lands and Surveys.

During March a total of 626 contracts for the sale of residential and commercial properties and land (building plots and fields) were deposited at Land Registry offices across Cyprus, compared with the 539 deposited in March 2016.

Of those 626 contracts, 440 (70%) were deposited by Cypriot purchasers and 186 (30%) were deposited by overseas purchasers.

Although the number of sales contracts in Larnaca and Nicosia fell by 7% and 4% respectively, they rose in the remaining three districts.

Paphos lead the way with sales up 53% compared to March 2016, while sales in Famagusta and Limassol were up 21% and 18% respectively.

Total Property Sale Contracts – 2016/2017 Comparison

District Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Nicosia 2016 54
 79
 82
 79 82 98 102 64 81 80 86 144
2017 72 73 79
Famagusta 2016 22
 35 33
 35
 24 34
 27 41 32 47 19 87
2017 21  19 40
Larnaca 2016 78
 108 121
 127
 103 120
 123 81 121 111 114 153
2017 102  100 113
Limassol 2016 92
 179 197
 166
 145 222
 220 129 195 270 249 432
2017 132  177 232
Paphos 2016 81
 100 106
 107
 120 183
 153 136 127 126 183 318
2017 96  87 162
Totals 2016 327
 501 539
 514
 474 657
 625 451 556 634 651 1134
2017 423  456 626

During the first quarter of 2017, sales contracts have risen 10% compared with the first quarter of 2016.

(An unknown number of property sales contracts relate to ‘non-sale’ agreements such as loan restructurings, recoveries and debt-to-asset swaps agreed between the banks and defaulting borrowers. These contracts inflate the total figures above and the domestic sales figures below.)

Domestic property sales

Property sales to the domestic (Cypriot) in March rose 15% compared to March 2016 with sales rising in all districts with the exception of Larnaca, where sales remained steady.

Paphos lead the way with sales up 39% compared to March 2016, followed by Limassol (+21%), Famagusta (+14% and Nicosia (+1%).

Domestic Property Sale Contracts – 2016/2017 Comparison

District Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Nicosia 2016 43
 70
 10
 69 68 92 94 58 75 70 73 116
2017 63 69
                    
Famagusta 2016 20 31 21
 33
 24 7 19 32  22  37 9  72
2017  20  17                    
Larnaca 2016 68 96 85
 91
 93 75 91 67  90  81 74  114
2017  77  80                    
Limassol 2016 68 158 145
 122
 126 162 156 101  142  202 196  307
2017  97  130                    
Paphos 2016 61 72 59
 65
 105 126 74 88  98  83 111  171
2017  73  47                    
Totals 2016 260 427 382
 380
 416
 462
 434 346  427  473 463  780
2017  330  343                    

During the first quarter of 2017, domestic have risen 4% compared with the first quarter of 2016 to reach a total of 1,440.

Overseas property sales

Property sales to the overseas (non-Cypriot) market during March 2017 rose 18% compared to the same month last year with 186 contracts of sale deposited compared with 157 in March 2016.

Although sales in Nicosia and Larnaca fell by 40% and 22% respectively, these falls were more than outweighed by a 78% increase in Paphos, a 33% increase in Famagusta and an 8% increase in Limassol.

Overseas Property Sale Contracts – 2016/2017 Comparison

District Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Nicosia 2016 11
 9
 10
 10 14 6 8 6 6 10 13 28
2017 9
 4
 6
Famagusta 2016 2 4 12
 2
 0
 27
 8 9 10 10 10 15
2017 1 2 16
Larnaca 2016 10 12 36
 36
 10
 45
 32 14 31 30 40 39
2017 25 20 28
Limassol 2016 24 21 52
 44
 19
 60
 64 28 53 68 53 125
2017 35 47 56
Paphos 2016 20 28 47
 42
 15
 57 79 48 29 43 72 147
2017 23 40 80
Totals 2016 67 74 157
 134
 58
 195
 191 105 129 161 188 354
2017 93 113 186

During the first quarter of 2017, property sales to the overseas market have risen 32% compared with the first quarter of 2016 to reach a total of 392.

Cyprus Property Sale Contracts 2000 – 2017

Year Overseas Sales Domestic Sales Percentage
Overseas Sales		 Total
Sales
2000 450 12,214 3.6% 12,664
2001 1,207 12,849 8.6% 14,056
2002 2,548 14,111 15.3% 16,659
2003 3,981 15,294 20.7% 19,275
2004 5,384 11,947 31.1% 17,331
2005 6,485 10,106 39.1% 16,591
2006 8,355 8,598 49.3% 16,953
2007 11,281 9,964 53.1% 21,245
2008 6,636 8,031 45.2% 14,667
2009 1,761 6,409 21.6% 8,170
2010 2,030 6,568 23.6% 8,598
2011 1,652 5,366 23.5% 7,018
2012 1,476 4,793 23.5% 6,269
2013 1,017 2,750 27.0% 3,767
2014 1,193 3,334 26.4% 4,527
2015 1,349 3,603 27.2% 4,952
2016
 1,813 5,250 25.7% 7,063
2017 (March) 392 1,113 26.0% 1,505
Totals
 59,010 142,300 29.3% 201,310

 

One sixth of properties not registered

Staff Reporter
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One sixth of properties not registered

Cyprus properties not registered for tax

BUILDINGS on 211,811 plots were found to have never been valued by the Land Registry Department with their owners not paying property tax or sewerage fees. The buildings were detected in the latest valuation process conducted by the Department.

Of these, 73,412 were found in Nicosia, 37,185 in Larnaca, 10,556 in the Famagusta district, 57,529 in Limassol and 33,199 in Paphos.

In the meantime, apartments in the Limassol Marina have been valued at over €17 million each by the Land Registry Department but although being spared the property tax – since its abolition by parliament – will pay higher sewerage fees in line with other owners whose houses and apartments are taxed as if they were plots.

Land Registry Department Director Andreas Socratous explained to the House Interior Committee how the 1,133,298 plots in Cyprus have been valued of which 433,212 are houses and 66,178 commercial units

A total of 5,000 houses were revalued by using Google while software was developed to locate plots and describe external characteristics of immovable property in 21 villages in the Nicosia district, while drones were also used to collect information.

A total of 58,808 photographs were taken during the valuation process.

A total of 40,387 applications were received to correct valuation mistakes valuations of which 84% (34,021) have been completed.

A total of 1,699 applications were submitted questioning the initial valuation of which 35% (588) have been completed.

Since 2014, vertical overview aerial photography has been used to determine surface area and elevation to determine valuations.

A total of 200,000 plots were re-valued especially in Aglandjia and Deftera where they were initially overpriced due to the area that they were in.

Members of the public can submit the characteristics of their homes and request the Land Registry Department to compare it with the characteristics used to determine the valuation. Those wishing to do so, are required to obtain a specific number for this at the Citizens Service Centres.

The next projected date for valuations will be January 1, 2018.

Senior Land registry Department official Varnavas Pasioulis said that any excess property tax which has been paid due to a mistake in valuation will be returned.

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