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Cyprus Home Price Index up 1.84 percent in July

Nigel Howarth
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BuySell Cyprus Real Estate, a real estate advertiser, publishes a monthly ‘Home Price Index’ – the only one of its kind in Cyprus.

The company started to produce the index in 2004. It shows the movement of prices at which residential properties in Cyprus are sold and is based on an average of around 400 to 500 property sales/month.

When the index started in January 2004, the average residential property price was CYP 77,910. By the end of July 2007, it had reached CYP 100,546 – an increase of 29.05% over the 43 months since its introduction. This equates to an approximate annual growth of 8.11%.

For the whole of 2006, the Index rose by 5.87%, after a rise of 2.48% in 2005.

In the first 7 months of 2007, the Index has risen by 7.78%

Peyia lunacy

Editorial
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We are not whingeing Brits; our Cypriot neighbours have tried the Municipality, which seems to have no power, and the Citizen’s Line, which wasn’t helpful…

Following the storms in October 2006 and their tragic consequences, the Peyia Municipality worked hard to ensure future storm water would run away harmlessly by laying drainage pipes and contouring the ravines.

The road drain across Filipos Diogenes Street was improved and two small pipes were replaced by a large one to ensure the flood of water that runs down the hill from the village like a river was diverted into a ravine.

The developers at the bottom of the ravine aesthetically made a channel with large stone banks, but now another developer is busy filling in the top section of the ravine, so where will all the water go?

Possibly, it will push the infill (consisting of earth, lumps of concrete, plastic, etc.) down the ravine and engulf the houses at the bottom with a slurry of mud similar to the one at the Corallia Beach Hotel.

Also, the ravine was green all year round and was a shelter for lizards, blackcaps, Cyprus warblers, etc.

So which lunatic gave planning permission for this? What happened to the Environmental Study which would have precluded this from happening? Does anyone care?

Bill and Maggie White
Peyia

Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2007

Are there no planning rules in Cyprus?

Editorial
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In recent months, I and other residents of Mytides Pyla, have expressed concerns at what appears to be either a blatant disregard for or the bending of planning regulations in respect of the proposed developments in Pyla.

Since the beginning of 2007, we have witnessed a steady procession of potential purchasers looking to develop this plot, and subsequent letters to the Planning Officer remain unanswered.

On July 12, workmen stated to clear the field. The next day, I managed to make contact with the Planning Officer, but her response was less than encouraging: basically, as this is designated a residential area, anyone can build, (this implies that the right to build is taken as guaranteed, permission only needs to be rubber stamped). No permission to build had been given, but the owner could build a road, the reason for which remains unclear other than to facilitate the later building of property, and appears on the surface to be an attempt to usurp existing planning regulations.

All this is done with out public notification, consultation, against the wishes of local residents and in contravention of the governments Citizens’ Charter, which states “particular attention is given to ensuring that the public is informed in a timely and reliable manner“.

It is apparent the process of notification is not followed and any objections are looked upon by certain individuals, be it developers or the legal authority charged by the government of Cyprus for ensuring fair and equal treatment under existing regulations as little more than a joke.

Like Spain, Cyprus is fast becoming over developed; this is evident by the large number of houses in Oroklini and Pyla which remain unoccupied, yet construction continues regardless and the granting of planning permission appears to go ahead unabated. The recent deaths in Paphos caused by mud slides during storms only too graphically show the consequence of failing to enforce existing regulations.

There are EU regulations regarding development, its impact on the environment, disposal of surface water and sewerage, noise and natural light pollution, all of which seem to be treated with contempt when it comes to land development.

Planning regulations are there for a purpose, if building continues at it present rate, within 10 years, especially along heavily populated costal areas, there will be no green field sites
left in Cyprus.

SF McManus
Pyla

Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2007

The difficult Cyprus property title deed route

Antonis Loizou FRICS
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So that you can appreciate the long and difficult way from the completion of a building, to the issue of the property title deeds, we hereby submit the procedure that it is required. For each step we hereby provide the legal requirement for the issue of a permit and the actual time taken.

  • Application for town planning permit – This is the most important permit for the development. It sets out what you can build, the use, the access, the ceeding of part of your property to the public use, the layout/appearance of a building, the density, height, coverage etc. Legal time required for a reply is 3 months, but actual time 6-9 months and this provided there are no problem.
  • Building Permit – The building permit follows the issue of the planning permit. It checks the structural stability of the building, the provision of public services, health and safety, the fire adequacy of the building, sewage and drainage etc. No legal requirement for its issue. Should be received 3-4 months, but usual time especially if in the District Office 12-18 months.
  • Once the building is completed you must invite the Municipality (if a Municipal area) or the District Office/Town Planning Department (if not) in order to check, whether what you have built is in accord with the two previous permits. Time for inspection from date of invitation should be 1-2 months, actual time 4-6 months.
  • Cover Permits – Because, inevitably, no building is erected 100% in accordance with its permits, but minor or not changes are made or additions (e.g. a pool, a car-port etc) then you must start all over again. That, is a new application for a town planning permit (called a cover permit) a new application for a new building permit (called a cover building permit) with the possibility of these two new permits requiring another 1 year or so.
  • Once the building is O.K., you must seek the certificate of final approval. The supervising technician will make up his report, submit it to the local civil engineer, the engineer will then submit it to the building committee, the minutes must be typed, corrected and approved and when this is done, the committee must sign. Time from the O.K. until you actually get the certificate in your hand 6-18 months – always provided there is no major problem with the building.
  • Then you must submit what is called a division permit. A clear and straightforward procedure but, yes, it will take another 6 months.
  • Then, once this is issued, you will need a certificate of approval of the division permit (again through the engineer, Building Committee, minutes etc etc) another 6 months at best.
  • Once you receive the previous last permit then you can apply to the Lands Office for registration and issue a title. Normal time needed is between 12-30 months depending on the difficulties.
  • If the project which your property forms part is large enough, it will also require an environmental study and thus your time is elongated by another 6-8 months (legal time for a reply 30 days).

Total time from start to completion around 8-10 years or time after completion of construction work to deed approximately 5-7 years.

This time could be reduced to 50% of the total, if the permits are privatized i.e. the designer (architect/engineer) to bear the responsibility that he is designing within the regulations and he must certify at the end that the developer has built in accord with the permits. The designer must have a Bank/Insurance guarantee of at least CYP500.000, so if he does not do his job right, he will have to pay the authority for the loses, in addition losing his architect/engineer permit. This could be done for small buildings, on an experimental basis, up to the extent of 5.000 sq.mts. Alternatively and because we feel that the longest delays are those after the building permit issue, all the relevant certificates to be issued by the supervising or any other architect/engineer (with the same CYP500.000 guarantee and responsibility). The authorities to keep a supervising role and spot checking.

If this adopted for an experimental period of 1-2 years, at least for those buildings with a building permit issued up to the year 31.12.2005, it will cover the thousands of backload applications, leaving the authorities to make a fresh start.

Surely there will be cover ups and the difficulties and including the possibility that the non-public, supervising architect/engineer, might turn a building e.g. here and there, but what is the target? If the problem is to be solved this is the only way. After all it is the authorities fault for such delays as is the numerous illegal acts by the applicants.

Assuming that there are delayed 20.000 housing units (let alone the others) pending/in the process of having their titles being issued, the transfer fees that the Government will collect once the deeds are issued is expected to exceed CYP140 mil., a good income for the state, but more importantly, it will solve thousands of problems created against the buyers.

Privatization is the name of the game and we have been pressing the Government for the last 8 years to allow this, as it has allowed in the past (with the same reservations) for the private land demarcation and private property valuations on behalf of public authorities. It is very difficult however to convince the civil/Municipal employees to let go some of their despotic authority. Is not an easy thing. Lets keep our fingers cross because this privatization process is already happening to a small extent for other activities.

 

By Antonis Loizou, FRICS
Antonis Loizou & Associates Ltd
Chartered Surveyors
Property Valuers – Project Managers

28 June 2007

www.aloizou.com.cy

www.aloizou.com.cy/auctions

www.aloizou.ro

[email protected]

Cyprus Pound locks with Euro

Editorial
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On Tuesday 10th July, the Cyprus Pound was locked with the Euro and will be worth 0.585274 pounds. The EU Ministers agreed that Cyprus and Malta should adopt the currency as expected on 1 January 2008.

The EU Ministers of Finance (ECOFIN) gave Cyprus and Malta the go-ahead to adopt the European single currency at a meeting in Brussels, attended by Cypriot Minister of Finance Michalis Sarris.

Portuguese Minister of Finance Fernando Teixeira dos Santos, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, congratulated the two countries “for this achievement, which is the result of appropriate policies which have been conducted in the last years.”

Cyprus Home Price Index up 1.72 percent in June

Nigel Howarth
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The index is published monthly by BuySell Cyprus Real Estate, a real estate advertiser.

BuySell started to produce its price index in 2004. It shows the movement of prices at which residential properties in Cyprus are sold and is based on an average of around 400 to 500 home sales/month.

When the index started in January 2004, the average residential property price was CYP 77,910. By the end of June 2007, it had reached CYP 98,728 – an increase of 26.72% over the 42 months since its introduction. This equates to an approximate annual growth of 7.63%.

For the whole of 2006, the Home Price Index rose by 5.9%, after a rise of 2.5% in 2005.

In the first 6 months of 2007, the home price index has risen by 5.83%

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