Property sales to Brits slow as the pound slides down against the Euro
The British are the prime targets for Cyprus property developers and probably account for more than three quarters of property sales. There has been a marked slow down in the market since the beginning of 2008, when Cyprus formally adopted the Euro and the housing crisis almost simultaneously seemed to start to affect everybody. While the UK has not slid into the financial mess that is evident in the USA and it would seem that the exposure of most British banks is not as serious as some of their American rivals, there has been a sea change in UK banks' willingness to lend money. Many financial products have been withdrawn and there are now no 100% mortgage deals available. Even people with a good financial history and incomes that could support mortgages, are finding it tough to find a lender who will make a reasonable fixed term offer.
This should be a good time to negotiate HARD with developers who have had it all their way in recent years and many have stretched themselves by borrowing heavily, based on the expectation of easy sales … now they are becoming worried, have payments to meet and should prove very flexible on price and other aspects of any deal.
The property boom will definitely slow and whether you are looking to either buy sell Cyprus property, you will find the prices have already hit their peak and should remain steady for some time to come. If anything, the current mood makes buying Cyprus property an even better bet than perhaps a year ago.
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