December sales up 13 per cent

Nigel Howarth
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December sales up 13 per cent

PROPERTY sales rose by 13% in December 2015 compared with the same period in the previous year according to official figures issued earlier today by the Department of Lands & Surveys.

During December a total of 513 contracts for the sale of commercial and residential properties and land (building plots and fields) were deposited at Land Registry offices across Cyprus, compared with the 454 deposited in December 2014.

Of those 513 contracts, 74% (378) were deposited by domestic (Cypriot) purchasers, while 26% (135) were deposited by overseas (non-Cypriot) purchasers.

While property sales in Paphos and Famagusta fell by 16% and 11% respectively, they rose in all other districts.

Sales in Larnaca rose 70%, sales in Limassol rose 33% and sales in Nicosia rose 2%.

Total Cyprus property sales - December 2015

Over the year property sales rose 9% reaching 4,952 compared with 4,527 in 2014.

Domestic sales

The number of properties purchased by Cypriots in December rose 6% compared to December 2014, with sales reaching 378 compared with 357 during the same period last year.

Although sales in Paphos, Nicosia and Famagusta declined by 21%, 14% and 5%, these falls were outstripped by rises of 84% in Larnaca and 16% in Limassol.

Domestic Cyprus property sales - December 2015

Sales to the domestic market over the year rose 8% to reach 3,603 compared with 3,334 in 2014.

Overseas sales

Property sales to the overseas (non-Cypriot) market rose 39% in December compared to December 2014 with sales reaching 135 properties sold compared with the 97 sold in December 2014.

With the exception of the once favoured hot-spots of Famagusta and Paphos, where sales to the overseas market fell by 75% and 4% respectively, they rose in the remaining three districts.

Sales in the predominantly business districts of Nicosia (the capital) and Limassol rose 400% and 119% respectively – and sales in Larnaca rose 43%.

Cyprus overseas property sales - December 2015

Sales to the overseas market during 2015 rose 13% to reach 1,349 compared with 1,193 in 2014.

Property market review & expectations for 2016

Nigel Howarth
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Property market review & expectations for 2016

Property market review & expectations for 2016IN ITS ANNUAL report Resolute Asset Management provides a review of the Cyprus economy & real estate market for 2015 and its prospects and expectations for them in 2016:

Property market review

Resolute Asset Management reports that transaction volume rose by around 9% in the first eleven months of 2015 compared to the same period in 2014. It notes that the volume was significantly lower than the peak recorded before the bail-in and recession. Compared to 2007, the number of transactions has fallen by 79%.

Limassol had the highest number of transactions, accounting for 31% of the total volume, while Famagusta (which is heavily reliant on local demand for holiday homes) accounted for just 6% of the total.

According to RICS (Cyprus) residential property prices continued to fall, with the most resilient property types being residential houses, where prices have fallen 4% since 2014 and 30% since the fourth quarter of 2009.

Property market expectations for 2016

Resolute Asset Management expects that transactions volumes will remain at low levels, with prices of prime assets reaching their lowest point during the first half of the year. It anticipates that demand for secondary assets will be almost non-existent and that prices will stabilise.

It is expected that transactions in the property market will remain concentrated on prime assets while overseas buyers, encouraged by the government’s Naturalisation Scheme, will focus almost exclusively on high-end residential properties (over €300,000).

Capital Values – 2016 Forecast
Housing Plots (-) 5-10%
Commercial Plots (-) 10-15%
Offices Cat A (+/-) Stable
Cat B (-) 10%
Apartments Centre (-) 10%
Secondary locations (-) 10%
Touristic locations (-) 10%
Shops Centre (-) 5-10%
Secondary locations (+/-) Stable (thin volume)
Touristic locations (+/-) Stable (thin volume)
Fields (-) 10-20% (lack of demand)

Institutional investors are scarce and are only interested producing income from their investments such as grade A properties and/or sizeable parcels of land with potential for tourist developments.

Middle Eastern investors eyeing Cyprus

Press Release
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Middle Eastern investors eyeing Cyprus

Middle Eastern investors eyeing CyprusCHESTERTONS, the international property agency established in 1805, stated that it is witnessing growing interest from the UAE and GCC investors for luxurious Cyprus based properties. As per reports, the property sales in Cyprus rose by 23% in October this year compared to 2014.

“Cyprus is now being viewed as the next hotspot after top investment destinations like London, New York and Paris. The economy of Cyprus is set to take-off due to the government’s stringent reformative measures. The Q1 growth levels were gradual, however, this was followed by a surge in Q2 and the economy reported an even faster growth in Q3. The country is now being applauded for its focus on reforms, higher economic growth factors, stability in the banking system and for pushing the country’s fiscal performance towards a positive trajectory,” said Yiorgos Georghiou, Sales Director at Limassol Marina.

Part of the prestigious Lanitis Group of Companies, Cybarco, is the developer of some of the most prestigious projects in Cyprus and has over 70 years of expertise in developing high end projects both in Cyprus and abroad. Due to the growing overseas investor interest, Cybarco recently unveiled Limassol Marina’s high end residences to GCC investors through Chestertons.

“Cyprus has carved a niche for itself over the years and the investors in this region are seriously considering properties in this country. Limassol Marina is an exclusive waterfront development designed by world-renowned team of architects and engineers. It combines elegant residences and a full service marina with an enticing mix of restaurants and shops, to create a lifestyle uniquely shaped by ‘living on the sea’. This outstanding collection of stylish homes provides a luxurious retreat just a short stroll from the historic heart of Limassol town. Limassol Marina consists of 162 luxury apartments and 74 exclusive properties comprising of peninsula and island villas,” said Declan McNaughton, Managing Director, Chestertons UAE.

As per the statistics disclosed by the Department of Lands and Surveys of the country, the number of properties sold in Cyprus during October 2015 increased substantially. Around 463 contracts which included the sale of residential and commercial properties were recorded at the Land Registry offices across Cyprus, compared with 375 recorded last October. Out of the 463 contracts, 76% (352) were domestic buyers, while 24% (111) were non-Cypriot investors.

“We have received a considerable amount of interest from Middle Eastern investors who are seeking to establish their second homes overseas. With a surge in demand for foreign properties by Middle Eastern buyers, Chestertons is now able to offer an extensive range of international property options from our office in Dubai,” said Brennon Nicholas, Head of International Sales, Chestertons MENA.

“This integrated waterfront development has 650 berths for yachts up to 110m. It offers luxury apartments and villas with private berths or direct access to the beach. All residences benefit from stunning sea views, every modern comfort and the highest standard of living. The development is surrounded by dining and shopping establishments, spa, fitness and cultural facilities throughout the year,” added Brennon.

Chestertons, has created a new ‘International Properties’ arm that will focus on EU based properties for UAE investors. This new division will also help the Emiratis to explore several new investment opportunities due to the current visa-free-travel status in the Schengen zone. The company will facilitate UAE investors to buy properties in Spain, Monaco, Cyprus and several other EU countries from its office in Dubai.

Limitations law amendment (updated)

Nigel Howarth
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Limitations law amendment (updated)

THE CYPRUS Limitations Law (66(1) 2012) imposes time limits on which a party must bring a claim or give notice of a claim to the other party. Once the limitation period has expired, a party is prohibited from starting a claim against another party.

However, since its introduction in 2012 MPs have voted on three occasions to extend its one year ‘transition period’, which was initially designed to allow those who were approaching limitation to issue proceedings:

In May 2013 MPs voted to extend the transition period until 31st December 2013, giving an additional six months for those wishing to issue proceedings to do so before the transition period expired.

In December 2013 MPs voted once again to extend the transition period – this time by a further 12 months until 31st December 2014.

In December 2014 MPs voted yet again to extend the transition period by a further 12 months until 31st December 2015. It was reported that the extension was needed to give banks sufficient time to proceed with debt settlements.

With the impending deadline to file claims less than two weeks away, individuals and lawyers acting on behalf of their clients issued legal proceedings at courts around Cyprus. Many of these related to the alleged mis-selling of loans denominated in Swiss francs and other foreign currencies.

Latest limitations law amendment

Now, in a move that appears to have gone unnoticed by the press, the Statute of Limitations Law has been amended for a fourth time; details have been published in the Cyprus Government Gazette.

However, this latest amendment doesn’t extend the transition period, it does something much better – it calculates the limitation period from 1st January 2016 rather than the date of the cause of the action.

Further reading (added 30th December 2015)

Statute of Limitations Law (Law 66(I)/2012) (approximate English translation of the law as published in the Cyprus Gazette on 23rd December 2015)

Immovable property tax dodgers

Nigel Howarth
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Immovable property tax dodgers

ACCORDING to the Department of Lands and Surveys some 262,300 individuals who registered their properties with fake identification documents own properties with a 1980 value of €1.66 billion.

Out of those 262,300 individuals, 36,500 own property whose 1980 value exceeds €12,500 and should therefore be paying Immovable Property Tax.

The Tax Department and the Department of Lands has managed to track down approximately 10,000 tax dodgers, but the Tax Department is reported to be struggling to track down the remaining 36,500.

In addition to significant losses in state revenue, local authorities are losing out as property owners who cannot be identified also avoid paying local property taxes and sewerage charges.

Green light for Paphos marina

Bejay Browne
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Green light for Paphos marina

Paphos marinaOFFICIALS in Paphos have welcomed the announcement by Aristo Developers that the long-awaited marina project will soon get underway, following a ruling by the Supreme Court.

On Monday, the court announced a judgement in favour of applicant ‘Poseidon Grand Marina’, a joint-venture, in which Aristo developers is a major shareholder.

Head of the Kissonerga community council George Stylianou told the Cyprus Mail: “There is now finally a decision, and we now expect the winning consortium to start building this project as soon as possible. There are only draft plans at the moment, but once building plans have been passed and permits granted, we hope that they will be in a position to commence work next year.”

The head of the Paphos Chamber of Commerce, (EVE) Andreas Demetriades, welcomed the news saying that EVE had requested that the president of the Supreme Court issue the relevant documents around three months ago.

“We received this judgement on Monday and now we will wait for the consortium to proceed. This project will create a lot of jobs and many opportunities. We are very happy with the result.”

Paphos has long campaigned for a marina as it promises to attract high spenders and quality tourism.

Following the announcement of the tender for the project in 2007, it was awarded to the Cybarco-Pandora consortium of which the Leptos Group was part of, in 2008. However, the other two consortiums who had bid for the project challenged the award, at various stages, and it has since been in limbo.

The project had been frozen since litigation began after it was awarded in 2008.

The proposed marina at Potima in Kissonerga will be a crucial project for Paphos and a landmark development for the coastal town, said Stylianou.

Even though it had initially won the competition, Cybarco-Pandora was excluded yesterday, following a successful appeal from the lawyer of the Poseidon joint-venture

A Supreme Court hearing concerning the proposed marina was wrapped up in September, but the decision was reserved.

The Supreme Court reportedly excluded Cybarco-Pandora from undertaking the project and initiated negotiations with Poseidon Grand Marina, the second successful applicant, of which Aristo developers is a major shareholder.

Stylianou said: “This is a huge development for Kissonerga and will help us to clear our debt. It will mean more income from taxes. We owe around €3.5 million, a legacy from the previous council who borrowed money and had no way to pay these huge loans back. It’s no good to spend money without an income, it needs to be spent wisely.”

Stylianou noted that the marina will be a lucrative source of income for Kissonerga, adding that they are insisting that there will also be a dock for cruise ships included in the plans.

“This can be undertaken on the outer side of the marina and will be a good income for them, us, the local community and the wider area of Coral Bay. It will bring life to the entire area.”

When finally built, the marina will have a capacity of 1,000 berths for boats and would be located in Potima Bay in Kissonerga in an area 155,000 square metres. The project will take approximately three years to be completed.

A release from Aristo said: “Aristo Developers, one of the largest land development organisations in Cyprus, with more than 35 years of success, welcomes the decision for this large project that will have a positive impact on the further development of the city and Paphos district.”

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