Real Estate Investment in Cyprus – The Latest News

Real Estate Investment in Cyprus – The Latest News

The property investment news in Cyprus once again throws up the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The Cypriot government appears to be following its usual course of one step forward and two steps back, but there are some encouraging signs that the politicians are making a concerted attempt to revive the fortunes of the island.

Unfortunately, real estate investment in Cyprus has an image problem. This is the result of a few rotten apples amongst developers, lawyers and officials, fuelled by rampant nepotism. Promisingly, a few recent directives appear to address some of the problems, although many more remain. Hopefully, Cyprus will sort these issues out, and let the many hard-working and honest developers prevail.

Real Estate Investment in Cyprus – The Good

Cyprus is throwing open its arms to the Islamic world, and dangling the carrot of guaranteed residency for Iranians buying property valued at over 350 000 Euros. This is a great incentive as there are many Iranian businessmen seeking to gain a legitimate foothold in Europe, circumventing many of the sanctions restricting trade in their home country. Real estate investment in Cyprus may well prove to be a tempting option for them.

In return, Cyprus benefits from the influx of money and the entrepreneurial spirit of Iranians who have managed to make money, despite the various trading restrictions. Certainly, the Greeks and the Iranians have a great historical respect for each other’s cultures, going back to the time of Ancient Greece and the Persian Empire. We salute the Cypriot Government, for showing that they can do something right!

The other good news is that Ryanair is contemplating setting up regular flights to Cyprus, which is great news for all of you with second homes. Many Brits want to escape the financial mire enveloping the UK, and soak up a little holiday sun. As part of a 300 million Euro drive to revive the property market and boost tourism, the Cypriot government has dropped the extortionate airport landing charges. It has also offered to reduce the VAT burden on hotels and the tourism sector, which may just have the desired effect.

It sounds like the Cypriot government are finally getting their act together and realizing that bad publicity, and trying to squeeze every last cent out of tourists and property investors, brings dire long term consequences.

We can only hope that this outbreak of common sense continues