With high interest rates and inflation hitting sales to local people, it’s a buyers’ market for international property hunters in Cyprus. The opportunity to own a new build home in Cyprus is particularly good, so our writer Helen asked her daughter Argyro, an architect, for her tips on getting your dream home built from scratch.
The Cyprus Central Bank reports that high interest rates and the cost-of-living crisis may be contributing to the slowing demand in local property in Cyprus.
However, while local people with mortgages may be affected, many international buyers in Cyprus are feather-bedded from rising interest rates by the simple pleasure of having paid off their mortgage. Indeed, if anything, they are getting a better return on savings. Moreover, they may be benefitting from the rise in the values of UK homes, which are still 17% higher than pre-pandemic levels.
Your new build home in Cyprus
So, they are coming into a buyer’s market here in Cyprus, simply because the high interest rates have diminished demand locally. That is not to say that prices in Cyprus are falling – far from it.
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New builds are the new choice
New build homes in Cyprus (i.e. often built just from buying a plot of land, or ‘off plan’ from a developer) are an increasingly preferred choice for international buyers.
Based on permits issued between January and May 2023, more than 4,000 new homes will be built in Cyprus in the near future. There are several good reasons for their popularity.
The costs to build your home from scratch, that is, construction materials, have grown throughout the world, but especially in Cyprus where much must be imported by sea. However, these have now levelled out in Cyprus.
Looking at applications for residential building permits in Cyprus, while the number of projects has fallen, builders are being more ambitious. The area of developments applied for is 3%, bigger, the number of units being built is 3.5% bigger and the project values have risen by 18%.
Developers have noted the recent government legislation that offers them lower VAT but restricts development sizes, and have secured building permits for medium-size developments. These in turn become available for new buyers to build their homes.
The foundations of new build success
Talking to my daughter, who is an architect in Cyprus, her biggest tip, which sounds like simple common sense, but could easily be overlooked, is that the quality of your new home and its construction success relies on the location, size, and features of the land you choose to build it on. Get those right and you have, quite literally, a firm foundation.
Here are some other useful tips for buyers looking to build a new home…
Water
It’s something often in short supply in Cyprus, but if there is groundwater under where you are going to build your home. This can add to its foundation costs.
Construction costs
The average construction cost is around €1,500 per square metre. While you can build cheaper, do consider that if you will be selling the property on when it is past its first flush of youth, spending a bit more on better materials now could save you both ongoing maintenance fees and get you a better price when you sell. Plus, if it’s your creation, you want it to last don’t you?
Sketch out your ideas
Get your sketch pad out and plan how you want your home to work. You’ll need an architect to assess if it fits your purchased land.
Architect in charge
In Cyprus, an architect takes control of the whole construction of your home project. They will consider your design ideas, offer design suggestions themselves and then they will make an estimate of the costs of the materials and for the services of those workers involved in the construction of your home like builders, electricians, plumbers, carpenters etc.
The architect will apply to the government department for a building permit, in effect planning permission, and will prepare all the documents on your behalf. Planning permission takes about a year to obtain and, is generally easy to obtain than in some countries.
From personal experience, the fact that you’re using an architect’s services gives the government more confidence in the viability of the construction project.
Pros of new-build homes
Your new-build home will be unique to you because you have been involved in all aspects of the design, both inside and out. You are not buying someone else’s design preference and you’ll be the first resident.
Those in Cypriot real estate say that construction costs average 20-30% cheaper that a ready-built home.
Despite the lower costs, you should get a better propertyt when buying a new build home in Cyprus. To get planning permission it will not only have to comply with all the earthquake regulations, but will also be built with the best, latest eco-considerations too. That’s not just great for the environment, but for you too, and your pocket, with your house staying cooler in summer and warmer in winter.
Finally, again from personal experience, I can honestly say that nothing beats the sense of satisfaction that you get from owning and living a new home whose construction you have been involved in every step of the way!
