The rent situation with the constant increase in the cost of residential units has been of concern for some time to the extent that it affects the local market, especially the middle- and low-income group.
A significant increase in the cost of construction, an expected increase in interest rates, a change in attitude to rent and an influx of foreign demand have led to the fact that rents in cities have reached an unattainable level for local residents.
Experts say they expected an outflow of Russian citizens, which would have eased the situation, but there was an influx of Ukrainian companies that filled the void. Many noted that as soon as any events occur in the world, it has an impact on the real estate sector: the unfavorable situation in Lebanon, which sent demand from wealthy Lebanese to Cyprus, then the civil war in Yugoslavia, the collapse of the USSR, and now the war in Ukraine. At the same time, there is an endless interest in Cyprus from Israeli investors.
As expected, the new casino in Limassol, which requires 5,000 employees (mostly foreign staff, since locals are not particularly interested in hard work or after hours), will further aggravate the rental situation in the country.
But shipping, which is one of the main earning centers in Cyprus, does not seem to have been affected by recent events.
At the moment we have at least 14,000 new arrivals, who mostly belong to the higher income group, looking for the same housing as the locals. If we take this number to 14,000, it can increase the demand for apartments by at least 3,000 units, which we cannot provide,” Antonis Loizou said.
Nicosia is the latest city to benefit from this increase in demand. Here, apartments go away 4 hours after placing ads in the public domain.
This primarily affects the demand of students, as well as local residents with medium/low income. So, yes, demand pushes prices up, but at the same time creates difficulties for local residents. This housing shortage was anticipated by Israeli investors who purchased large plots of land in the Fasuri/casino area with major projects under development, but it is still not enough.