Property Investment News From Buy Into Cyprus

News That UK House Prices are to Fall by 30% in Total, highlights the Safety of the Cypriot Property
Tue 16th Dec 08 - 15:24

Buy Into Cyprus has fielded a number of calls from concerned Brits looking to take their money out of the UK and into Cyprus.

The head of the Barclays Bank has issued a dire warning about the UK economy and predicted that the already beleaguered housing market will suffer a further fall of 15% before the end of the financial crisis.

In an interview with Sky News, Barclays’ chief John Varley said that the UK was only “halfway” through the housing crisis, adding: “from the top to the bottom, you would see a fall of something like 25% - 30%”.

Derek Hatton, Director of Cypriot property specialists Buy Into Cyprus, said that he has already fielded calls from worried clients looking to salvage whatever savings and equity they have in their UK property and invest in Cyprus.

“This is not a good time to be a UK homeowner,” says Hatton. “As soon as you think that a bottom might be appearing in the UK market, further warnings come like this. I have had two calls since this story broke asking me for a rundown on our portfolio in Cyprus. It has hit young and old alike. Even those of us that sell overseas property own homes in the UK as well! The younger generation just wants to get on the ladder, while the older citizens are worried about their retirement and their disappearing pensions. Fortunately for our clients, we have a diverse spread of options available in Cyprus for them at a range of entry levels. We also have relationships with lenders too.”

According to the latest NatWest UK House price information, house prices across Britain have fallen by 13.9% since November 2007, or around £25,000. The average house price in the UK now stands at £158,442.

Other independent statistics also confirm the decline, with the latest Global House Price Index from Knight Frank showing UK price growth as a whole has fallen 10.2% since Q3 2007 and dropped 19 places on the world rankings.

“Lithuania, Canada, the UK and Norway saw the biggest falls in Q3, with prices falling by around 5% in just three months,” confirmed a spokesperson.

In contrast, Cypriot house prices have remained constant throughout the global economic downturn. According to the Knight Frank Index, Cyprus recorded an average of 9% growth across the island in the last three months of this year.

“No one is pretending that Cyprus is untouchable,” added Hatton. “However, it is in the fortunate position of having a good supply-demand chain and a growing number of buyers from all over the world helping secure resale prices. A client of ours purchased his property in Cyprus last summer for €188,000 and had it revalued this summer at €255,000. This is growth of around €70,000 and we expect this to continue. We have also started marketing our golf course property in Tersefanou, Larnaca and this helps prices grow as well. A recent survey from KPMG found that golf course properties retain their prices and grow by an additional 10% - 15% on average.

Due to be built in the town of Tersefanou, the  5 star Larnaca Golf and Country Club, will comprise of an 18-hole  championship golf course, over 500 residences, breaking down to 285 two to four bedroom villas, 211 one, two and three bedroom apartments and 40 ‘hotel-style’ rooms in the complex. Alongside this will be a clubhouse, a village square and purpose built function rooms and spa facilities.

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