Assetz® News - Cyprus standing tall

Cyprus standing tall

16th December 2008 |

In the midst of the credit crunch, one might wonder where the most popular places are around the world to invest. The answer may be subject to qualifications, of course, not least the question of who it is that is investing. Where Britons may wish to invest could differ from the favoured destinations for Russians, Swedes or Americans.

A survey published this week by real estate firm Globaledge did at least restrict itself to the places the English-speaking world wishes to invest. But this list also excluded other English-speaking countries. So how many Britons would wish to invest in the US, Australia or New Zealand was not made apparent.

However, the research did offer some substantial evidence of which non-English speaking countries the Anglophone world likes to invest in. Based on internet property searches in September - 1.4 million in all - it revealed, perhaps not unpredictably, that Spain and France were top of the tree as usual. The one notable statistic here was that the gap between Spain and France was larger than expected, observed the firm's managing director Ashley Rigg.

It is the position of some of the other countries that may interest some. Cyprus came seventh overall with 7.2 per cent of the searches (101,121 in total), but even this showing may understate its relative strength. Sitting above it in the table were two multinational categories - the Middle East, plus Central and South America. Therefore, it is likely that Cyprus may be as high as fifth in the market, since the highest number of searches for any location in either of those two regional categories was for Dubai, making up 70 per cent of 121,835 searches (around 85,000).

Where Cyprus is at in terms of other aspects of its property market may be a little less clear. As elsewhere, there has been downward pressure on prices, but there is disagreement on how much, reports Cyprus Property Magazine, with the central bank claiming a ten per cent drop based on data for the first nine months of 2008. On the other hand, it noted, experts such as valuater Antonis Loizou think the fall has been 20 per cent, a view he expressed recently to financial website Stockwatch.

Mr Loizou anticipated further falls, but for some investors this may be no bad thing as there could be plenty of bargains around. Furthermore, those who do invest may do so with long-term factors - such as the perennial sunshine and tourist appeal of the country - in mind.

Another trend adds to the long-term prospects for the country. Eurostat data released this week showed that in January 2009 the population of the country is projected to be 802,000, up from 789,000 a year earlier. As elsewhere, a rising population is one way of applying upward pressure on housing demand and therefore prices. The 3.9 per cent increase in population was exceeded only by Luxembourg, France and Ireland. Cyprus also had the fourth highest net migration rate, the latter perhaps fuelled by those English-speaking investors.

So while Cyprus may offer bargains now, such demographic pressures may make a distinct difference in the longer run, something many investors - English speaking or not - may consider.