Euro to boost Cyprian property market

Permalink: Euro to boost Cyprian property market
by Gill Montia

Cyprus is gearing up for an historic occasion as it implements plans to adopt the euro, the single European currency, on 1st January 2008.

The move is expected to bring important benefits to the island’s economy as a whole and the Cypriot central bank is expecting property investors to be very active in the country.

According to Les Calvert, director of the worldwide real estate firm, Property Abroad, “Cyprus has been increasing in popularity over the last year; more people are now making specific enquiries.”

He attributes this, in part, to the fact that: “There are still a few properties around that are free of VAT out there, so people are jumping on and trying to snap up properties where they can.”

Mr Calvert is optimistic that property investors in the country will benefit from the move to the euro because “it will make the property market a lot more open” and he expects “the market to rise quite healthily”.

Purchasers can also investigate the advantages of foreign currency mortgages, which can be provided by Swiss banks and other financial institutions.

However, this type of mortgage is of maximum benefit to anyone living overseas or gaining some overseas income.