Marginal increase in building permits

Nigel Howarth
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Marginal increase in building permits

Cyprus building permits May 2016THE NUMBER of building permits authorised in May 2016 stood at 440 compared with the 434 authorised in May last year; an increase of 1.4 per cent according to official figures released by the Cyprus Statistical Service.

However, compared with May 2015, the total area of these permits fell 6.7% to 84.6 thousand square metres from 44.3 thousand square metres and their value fell 16.8% to €102.7 million from €123.4 million.

During May, building permits were issued for:

  • Residential buildings – 301 permits
  • Non-residential buildings – 94 permits
  • Civil engineering projects – 13 permits
  • Division of plots of land – 31 permits
  • Road construction – 1 permits

Building permits for new homes

The 301 residential building permits approved in May provided for the construction of 278 new homes comprising 188 single houses and 90 multiple housing units (such as apartments, semis, townhouses and other residential complexes).

This is an increase of 0.7% compared with May 2015 when building permits were issued for the construction of 276 new homes.

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

Month 2015
(Dwellings)		 2016
(Dwellings)		 Increase/
Decrease		 %age
Change
January 204 243 39 19.1%
February 384 312 -72 3.0%
March 297 306 9 3.0%
April 147 201 54 36.7%
May 276 278 2 0.7%
Total 1,032 1,062 30 2.4%

Year to date

During the first five months of 2016 the number of building permits authorised for both residential and non-residential projects has risen by 6.0% to 2,156 compared with the 2,034 authorised in the first five months of 2015.

However, the total value of these permits has fallen by 8.4% to €400.7 million and their total area has fallen by 5.3% to 364.0 thousand square metres, while the number of housing units has increased by 2.4%.

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

July property sales up 26 per cent (Updated)

Nigel Howarth
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3
July property sales up 26 per cent (Updated)

Cyprus property sales up 26 per centPROPERTY sales in Cyprus increased by 26 per cent in July compared July last year according to the latest official figures published by the Department of Lands and Surveys.

During July a total of 625 contracts for the sale of commercial and residential properties and land (building plots and fields) were deposited at Land Registry offices across the island; an increase of 26% over the 496 sold in July last year.

Of those 625 contracts, 69% (434) were deposited by domestic (Cypriot) purchasers, while 31% (191) were deposited by overseas (non-Cypriot) purchasers.

However the demand for properties being auctioned is extremely weak. Of the 43 pieces of real estate that were offered at auction in July, only 6 were purchased.

The 26% increase in July follows a 42% increase in July and a 17% increase in May and a 35% increase in April.

The number of contracts includes ‘non-sale’ agreements such as loan restructurings, recoveries and debt-to-asset swaps agreed between the banks and defaulting borrowers. As these ‘non-sale’ agreements are not recorded separately, there is no clear picture of the actual demand for property.

With the exception of Famagusta, where sales during July fell 40% compared to the same period last year, they rose in all other districts.

Sales in Nicosia rose 70% compared with July 2015, while sales in Limassol, Larnaca and Paphos rose by 41%, 29% and 9% respectively.

Total Property Sale Transactions – 2015/2016 Comparison

District Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Nicosia 2015 46 45 83 88 86 61 60 37 65 64 60 54
2016 54
 79
 82
 79 82 98 102
Famagusta 2015 16 27 17 17 21 33 45 14 30 29 33 42
2016 22
 35 33
 35
 24 34
 27
Larnaca 2015 90 71 98 67 68 111 95 75 85 87 111 114
2016 78
 108 121
 127
 103 120
 123
Limassol 2015 95 97 160 115 135 135 156 87 114 166 137 169
2016 92
 179 197
 166
 145 222
 220
Paphos 2015 74 85 94 94 95 124 140 88 91 117 105 134
2016 81
 100 106
 107
 120 183
 153
Totals
 2015 321 325 452 381 405 464 496 301 385 463 446 513
2016 327
 501 539
 514
 474 657
 625

Year to date performance

During the first 7 months of 2016 property sales have risen 28% to reach 3,637 compared with 2,844 during the corresponding period last year.

Property sales have risen in all districts. Sales in Limassol have risen 37% and have risen by 30% in Larnaca. Sales in Nicosia, Paphos and Famagusta have risen 23%, 20% and 19%.

Domestic property sales

Property sales to the domestic (Cypriot) market in July rose 24% compared to July 2015, with sales reaching 434 compared with 350 in the same month last year.

(Note that domestic sales include ‘non-sale’ agreements and the figures presented do not truly reflect the number of ‘real’ sales.)

While sales in Famagusta and Paphos fell by 32% and 11% respectively compared to July last year, they rose in the other three districts.

Sales in Nicosia rose 68%, while sales in Larnaca and Limassol rose 52% and 27% respectively.

Domestic Property Sale Transactions – 2015/2016 Comparison

District Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Nicosia 2015 39 36 71 74 74 58 56 36 55 60 50 44
2016 43
 70
 10
 69 68 92 94
Famagusta 2015 9 2 16 16 9 30 28 14 25 24 24 41
2016 20 31 21
 33
 24 7 19
Larnaca 2015 77 49 91 40 45 82 60 62 53 59 81 81
2016 68 96 85
 91
 93 75 91
Limassol 2015 71 77 147 90 86 100 123 65 81 127 82 123
2016 68 158 145
 122
 126 162 156
Paphos 2015 39 38 86 64 34 63 83 64 47 92 71 89
2016 61 72 59
 65
 105 126 74
Totals
 2015 235 202 411 284 248 333 350 241 261 352 308 378
2016 260 427 382
 380
 416
 462
 434

Domestic sales during the first seven months of 2016 are up 34% compared with the first seven months of 2015 with sales reaching 2,761 compared with 1,713 during the corresponding period last year.

Sales have risen in all districts. Sales in Famagusta have risen 41% and have risen 35% in both Limassol and Larnaca. Sales in Paphos are up 34%, while sales in Nicosia have risen 25%.

Overseas property sales

Property sales to the overseas (non-Cypriot) market rose 31% in July compared with July 2015 with 191 properties being sold compared with 146 in the same month last year.

While sales in Famagusta and Larnaca to the overseas market fell 53% and 9% respectively compared to July 2015, they rose in all the other districts.

In percentage terms, Nicosia led the way with sales to the overseas market up 100% compared to July 2015, while sales in Limassol, and Paphos rose by 94% and 39% respectively.

Overseas Property Sale Transactions – 2015/2016 Comparison

District Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Nicosia 2015 7 9 12 14 12 3 4 1 10 4 10 10
2016 11
 9
 10
 10 14 6 8
Famagusta 2015 7 25 1 1 12 3 17 0 5 5 9 1
2016 2 4 12
 2
 0
 27
 8
Larnaca 2015 13 22 7 27 23 29 35 13 32 28 30 33
2016 10 12 36
 36
 10
 45
 32
Limassol 2015 24 20 13 25 49 35 33 22 33 39 55 46
2016 24 21 52
 44
 19
 60
 64
Paphos 2015 35 47 8 30 61 61 57 24 44 35 34 45
2016 20 28 47
 42
 15
 57 79
Totals
 2015 86 123 41 97 157 131 146 60 124 111 138 135
2016 67 74 157
 134
 58
 195
 191

Overseas sales during the first seven months of 2016 are up 12% compared with the first seven months of 2015 with sales reaching 876 compared with 781 during the corresponding period last year.

With the exception of Famagusta and Paphos, where sales have fallen by 17% and 4% respectively, they have risen in all the other districts.

Sales in Limassol have risen 43%, while sales in Larnaca and Nicosia are up 16% and 11% respectively.

Cyprus Property Sale Transactions 2000 – 2016

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 (Jul)
 876 2,761 24.1% 3,637
Totals
 57,681 138,698 29.4% 196,379

 

Focus on Pegeia property sales

Nigel Howarth
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Focus on Pegeia property sales
Coral Bay, Pegeia
Coral Bay, Pegeia

THE PAPHOS municipality of Pegeia (Peyia), which lies some 14 kilometres north of Paphos town on the west cost of Cyprus, is the focus of an analysis of property sales in the area over the past three years carried out by Delfi Partners and Co.

Pegeia has the largest British expat population concentration at municipality level not only in the Paphos district but also in Cyprus.

Delfi reports that over the past three years a total of 54 houses were sold in the municipality, 70% of which are in the residential zone at the heart of the village, 15% were sold in the touristic zones, while the remaining 15% were holiday villas.

With 14 sales in 2013, 17 in 2014 and 23 in 2015, Delfi considers that the gradual increase in house sales in the municipality demonstrates the diminishing effect of the 2013 crisis and a gradual resurgence of the local economy and the demand for houses.

Further reading

Delfi Real Estate Analytics – location Pegeia

Chinese property scam second arrest

Annette Chrysostomou
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Chinese property scam second arrest
Chinese property scam second arrest
Paphos District Court

A 50-YEAR-OLD man was arrested on Thursday and remanded for three days by the Paphos court on Friday in connection with the fraudulent sale of property to a Chinese investor.

He is suspected of being the partner of a 43-year-old man who was arrested a week ago and remanded on Sunday for eight days.

The suspect faces charges of criminal conspiracy, extorting money under false pretences and money laundering, the alleged crimes having been committed between June 7 and July 27 in Paphos.

To complete their investigations, police need to take another 14 statements and are still waiting for the lifting of banking secrecy and data communications of the 50-year-old. There will also be two identity parades.

The judge noted that several of the statements would have to be taken in Mandarin, which would be done with the aid of an interpreter, which, he agreed, made the process more time-consuming.

The initial complaint was made by a woman aged 25 from China who is a permanent resident of Cyprus. In February this year, when she was in the village of Nata to look at some pieces of land she was interested in buying, she was allegedly approached by a stranger who offered to put her in contact with a friend who had plots of land for sale.

She accepted the proposal and gave the man her mobile phone number.

In late February and early March, the 43-year-old man phoned her and introduced himself as a real-estate agent. They then made an appointment in Yeroskipou.

The 50-year-old was at the meeting, the court heard, and was introduced as the suspect’s partner.

The pair then showed the Chinese investor a number of plots and buildings they said were for sale. These included an apartment complex in Yeroskipou and agricultural land in Koilinia and Anarita, property of the 50-year-old.

At the end of May, the two suspects also showed her, her husband and father-in-law a five-bedroom house in Chlorakas in which the Chinese woman and her family expressed an interest.

She was told the price was €1.2m but the duo suggested they could get the owner to knock the price down to €800,000, but that the Chinese investor should not try negotiating herself as there was a risk the owner would increase the price if they learned the buyer was a foreign investor.

Two days later, the 43-year-old visited the complainant’s home and asked for and was given €60,000 in 500 euro notes, saying he would give the money as a deposit to the owner of the sale property in order to help secure a better deal.

Investigators told the court that negotiations continued, according to the plaintiff, in an effort to lower the price. On June 19, the 43-year-old visited her again telling her that the owner had accepted the offer of €800,000 provided she hand over another €140,000 in cash in addition to the €60,000 already paid. However, she was not presented with any contract.

The scam came to light last Wednesday when the Chinese woman reported the case to police after she found out the owner of the property had no knowledge that it was being sold.

Steps to prevent Cyprus property price falls

Nigel Howarth
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Steps to prevent Cyprus property price falls

Steps to prevent Cyprus property price fallsTHE FINANCE Ministry is preparing a bill to help prevent a fall in Cyprus property prices in the event of a massive sale of properties that are now in the hands of the banks, according to a report in the Phileleftheros.

The bill is reported to include provisions enabling the banks to keep the properties on their books for five years rather than three years at present; they may also rent the properties and complete unfinished properties to make them more marketable.

Banks have a number of high value properties on their books, including:

  • A 21,316 sqm. plot of land in Geroskipou (Paphos) with an indicative price of €4.475 million and another 66,954 sqm. piece of land in the same area valued at €8.750 million.
  • A beachfront plot of land in Mouttalos (Paphos) measuring 23,255 sqm. valued at €9 million.
  • A 14,039 sqm. piece of land in the Trinity touristic area of Paralimni (Famagusta) offered for sale at €5.6 million.
  • Land in Engomi (Nicosia) valued at €11.5 million.

There are also properties in Limassol whose total value runs into several million Euros, including:

  • A 454 sqm. villa in the San Rafael area on a 1,095 sqm plot of land and being offered for sale at a price of €9.7 million.
  • A 555 sqm. villa being offered for sale at €5.7 million.
  • An unfinished four bedroom villa in Agios Tychonas priced at €1.6 million.

Banks playing a dirty game

Nigel Howarth
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Banks playing a dirty game

Cyprus banks playing a dirty gameALTHOUGH many people who were duped into buying property in Cyprus on land that their developer had earlier mortgaged to the bank are receiving the Title Deed to the property following their application under the provisions of the ‘trapped buyers’ law, problems remain.

To their disgust, some purchasers who applied for their Title Deeds have been advised that the transfer of the property they purchased has been blocked because the bank has obtained a temporary order from the court preventing its transfer.

The banks claim that they were unaware that the developer had sold the properties involved because their purchasers did not require additional funds to buy the property and the bank had no knowledge of the sales. The banks are also questioning the constitutionality of the ‘trapped buyers’ law.

We understand that some 30 – 40 of these temporary court orders have been issued.

However, the banks appear to be adopting different tactics. While some have obtained a number of temporary orders, others have obtained just one or two – apparently believing that any final decision will apply in other cases.

Clearly the banks are playing a dirty game in efforts to recover some of the money they lost due to their own stupidity, negligence and unwillingness or inability to manage their debtors; innocent property buyers are expected to pay for the banks’ incompetence.

In one case a purchaser opened a bank account at the same branch as their developer. They instructed the bank to transfer money into their development company’s account as each stage payment became due. Yet the bank is now claiming it did not know the property had been sold!

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