North Cyprus Property FAQ

At ShelterOffshore we made the decision from the outset to cover the property market in Northern Cyprus because it is just such an exciting emerging market presenting both unique problems and exceptional potential – but because we are one of the few publications to present an open approach to the market we receive a lot of direct feedback about the market and many general questions about it.

In this article we have decided to collate some of the recently frequently asked questions to save us having to copy and paste replies into emails and to save you having to search further for opinions and answers to your open queries.

Q: It was suggested in an article recently that Larnaca would be a better investment option than Northern Cyprus - the property/land is slightly cheaper and Larnaca is growing considerably, do you agree with this statement?

A: Larnaca in South Cyprus is a port town and also an important transport town because of its international airport.  It is about to see the airport expanded thanks largely to EU money, more cheap flights are coming to the airport annually and therefore it is one of the better places to invest in in Southern Cyprus at the moment. 

However, the town’s property prices are already very high especially when comparing like for like with property in North Cyprus.  Honest price growth predictions from experts without personal interest in the market in South Cyprus for 2007 are not positive. 

Looking to the medium term Southern Cyprus does not represent a good investment opportunity for a number of reasons: -  for one thing, according to the South Cyprus Sunday newspaper the Sunday Mail Noel Josephides, the president of the UK based Association of Greek Cypriot travel agents wants to make it illegal for foreign owners of property in Southern Cyprus to independently market them for rental via the internet unless they have a special licence to do so, what’s more VAT increases on new build homes makes buying in Southern Cyprus even more expensive, the currency is currently being devalued ready for Euro entry in 2008 and as more and more people realise how much better value real estate is in the North and understand that the legal situation for property owners is now more secure, so property prices in Southern Cyprus are that much more likely to suffer depreciation because they are over priced. 

What’s more, Larnaca is not a resort that you can compare to any on the North – it is a typical Blackpool in the sun type location with a strip of bars and clubs and far less soul and charm than Kyrenia and what’s more, because it has a large airport on its outer limits it is noisy and suffers from traffic congestion in the summer – naturally this reduces its physical attraction accordingly. 
Q: It has been said that the propaganda will not leave North Cyprus for a long time…

A: The negative propaganda associated with buying property in Northern Cyprus is now only supported and continued by the Greek Cypriots.  Since 2004 when they voted ‘no’ and the Turkish Cypriots voted ‘yes’ to the peaceful reunification of the island the world has changed its attitude and increasingly cases brought about by the Greek Cypriots against the Northern Turkish administration are being awarded in favour of the North. 

Take as an example the fact that Northern Cyprus now has its own property commission which is fully backed by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).  Previously Greek Cypriot’s who formerly owned property in the North brought cases against the Northern administration to the ECHR – but now that the North has its own property commission it is now dealing with all cases about land disputes with full international backing.  Not many people know this fact because the Turkish Cypriots are far less vociferous when it comes to their successes than the Greek Cypriots are when it comes to their complaints.

The property commission is currently awarding compensation to Greek Cypriots who have brought cases to it, it has not returned land or property and the compensation to be paid comes from the commission with the aid of Turkey…so the negative propaganda is now totally without teeth or substance.  Fortunately, slowly but very surely more and more people are beginning to realise this which is why property prices are going up in the North in direct line with increasing demand.

Q: Will North Cyprus continue to appeal only to an older crowd?

A: In terms of the North being attractive for older people only – no – the South is actually more attractive for retirees as they have a flat 5% tax rate on pension income! 

In North Cyprus there are more opportunities to start businesses, there is a freer business environment and there is employment opportunity aplenty in everything from construction and estate agency to education and tourism related fields which is why the international schools in the North have witnessed unprecedented growth because increasingly it is now young families moving to live in North Cyprus. 

Speaking to a 30 something British female estate agent who lives and works in North Cyprus about this issue recently, we were told in no uncertain terms that she has more 20,30 and 40 something friends than she knows what to do with and her friends’ children and teenagers have an increasing number of British and European friends to hang round with every single year as the number of young families moving to Cyprus increases all the time.

Hopefully this answers some of the issues and questions that our readers have about the realities and practicalities of buying property in North Cyprus and actually living in North Cyprus.