Cyprus property agents talk up Chinese interest
Fall in prices suggests mainland investment in Cyprus is still a trickle, writes Susie Watkins
One hundred home sales in as many days on a tiny island in the Mediterranean? For sale signs being hurriedly translated into Chinese?
While the goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite, might have bestowed those gifts on her birthplace, Cyprus, reports that the island has suddenly become a magnet for Chinese investment appear a little mythical.
According to the latest figures, real estate prices have tumbled by 7.6 per cent year on year, while the number of completed sales last month was down 15 per cent since 2011. That is an annual decline of 47 per cent and the biggest fall since foreign and domestic buying habits were first recorded back in 2000.
With such a cloudy outlook, who can blame some agents in Cyprus for perhaps embellishing the interest being shown by Chinese investors, following an acceleration of the terms some overseas buyers can gain residency permits.
Cyprus, which has long been considered as occupying the crossroads of Europe and the Middle East, and a trading post to Africa, revised its law in 2007 to allow non-European Union (EU) nationals who buy properties worth over €300,000 (HK$2.98 million) automatic and permanent, yet flexible, residency permits.
Now the policy has been accelerated and, with Spain and Malta tightening their residency rules, Cyprus is one of the few places in Europe where Chinese nationals - provided they invest €50,000 in a bank account for three years - can automatically get permits. Cyprus, which joined the EU in 2004, has long been a favourite for Russian investors, but there are signs that Asian investment is stepping up.
Property developer Cybarco, which is developing several luxury builds on the island and selling the portfolio with the respected global player Knight Frank, is behind the country's first residential marina development in Limassol, which is offering docking for 650 yachts and apartments from €428,000. It is also working on a project along the unspoilt northwest coast of Cyprus, Akamas Bay Villas, which is already 70 per cent sold, many to buyers from China.