Should I Buy or Rent Property in Nicosia in Cyprus?

Summary: A look at the dynamic and varied property market in Nicosia which is the capital of Cyprus

Nicosia is the capital city of Cyprus and it is famously the last divided city in the world…although these days the divisions between north and south are hardly heavily guarded!  Nicosia is also the business and banking capital of Cyprus, it’s a busy city with a large and growing population and it is a centre for employment meaning that every year many international citizens are relocated to, or chose to, come and live in Nicosia.

If you’re such a person and you’re planning a move to Nicosia you may well be asking yourself ‘should I buy or rent property in Nicosia in Cyprus?’ In this article we look at the pros and cons of each to help you decide.

First things first – if you are planning a move to Nicosia, welcome!  It’s a great city and we love living in it.  The standard of living is high, the cost of living is moderate and on a par with much of Western Europe, you drive on the left (great news for Brits), the shopping is amazing and the night life is brilliant!

Okay, all that aside and back to the question at hand – should you buy or rent property in Nicosia in Cyprus?  We would always, always advise a newcomer expatriate to rent a property no matter where in the world they are moving to and no matter how wealthy they are or how cheap property prices are! 

This is simply because it takes a while to get to know a location and a city like Nicosia is no exception - all the different areas of the city are very different and attract a different type of person!

So, if you’re newly arrived why not rent an apartment as close to the city centre and central business district as possible?  That way you won’t need a car straight away (you can use taxis and buses or walk everywhere), you won’t have to struggle to find places to go out and socialise and even though you’re living in the heart of the city you don’t really need to worry too much about noise because Nicosia is not an immense city with millions of cars honking and driving about day and night!

Once you have established a base in Nicosia you can begin to explore the different areas of the city…you might be drawn to the Forest Park area, you might want to live in the embassy area, Geri might appeal or Engomi or maybe you’ll want to be over in Strovolos?  In some areas you can get apartments, in others you can get town houses or even attractive villas or sprawling mansions!  You’ll soon figure out where it is you want to be and it is at this stage you can really ask yourself the ‘buy versus rent’ question.

Because the housing market in Cyprus is mature it’s easy for foreigners to buy property in Nicosia – you can even get a mortgage to do so.  But the market isn’t that fast moving especially the higher up the price scale you go.  So, if after a few months or even a year you’re feeling very confident that actually you love Nicosia and your job and you want to stay, then why not look at buying a property?  Even if after a few more years you want to move on you have the option of renting that property out because there is a strong rental market in the capital city of Cyprus.

If on the other hand you like to keep your financial capital liquid and you want to be free to leave Cyprus and explore more of the world whenever you feel ready I would advise against buying a property in Nicosia because you may not be able to release your capital at short notice and if you resell a property within the first few years you can be liable for higher rates of taxation on gains for example.

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