What sets a true investment property apart from the crowd?
There are many agents who will still cheerfully tell prospective clients that any given property is a prime investment, purely because of its price tag. However, a lower than average price provides no guarantee of healthy returns, as the prime investment homeowners of Liopetri and Sotira will unhappily attest to.
But while it is of course easy to sympathise with the expatriate denizens these villages, their plight does point us in the direction of the first rule of entering Cyprus' investment property market:
"Never blindly take a developer or estate agent at their word..."
Ultimately, many agents and developers will tell prospective clients a wide variety of tall tales, if they think it will help them to sell a property. One need only look at the wild claims still circulating the Internet about the Oroklini golf course* or the village's mythical theme park, to realise that it would be unwise to simply accept such statements of 'Big Plans' without some additional confirmation regarding their validity.
And this, as they say, neatly brings us back to investment homebuyers the aformentioned farming communities, because a little personal research would have shown serious flaws in the hyperbolic claims made by estate agents and property developers at the time (2004 to 2008).
"Separate truth from fiction..."
Finding high-yield investments is about taking charge of things, and getting to facts yourself. For instance, if you've done any reading up on property investments in the Republic of Cyprus, you'll no doubt have come across countless websites talking about the forthcoming Larnaca marina, and the projected real estate price rises expected along the Dekhelia road tourist zone as a result.
The simple fact is that the plans for Larnaca's new marina are currently on hold** for one reason or another. And though they haven't been abandoned, there is something of a Sword of Damocles suspended above them.
If, on the other hand, we were to mention the plans currently afoot for the expansion of Larnaca's commercial port, and the investment opportunities to be had in the north of town, there is a very good chance that it would be the first time you've ever heard about it.
Why? For one thing a commercial port isn't as glamorous as a luxury marina. Let's face it for a moment, the image of a high-rise apartment with a view of real container ships does not inspire thoughts of Mediterranean living in quite the same way as an artist's impression of a luxurious villa overlooking another artist's impression of an exclusive marina. Nevertheless, in reality the high-rise apartment currently wins where raw investment potential is concerned, which brings us to the next thing to remember:
"Listen to your pocket, not your heart..."
Always remember that you are making an investment. You are paying your hard-earned cash for a commodity, and at some point in the future you are expecting to sell this commodity for substantially more money than you bought it for. Unless you are planning on actually using your investment as a residence, or a holiday home, in the interim, your personal likes and dislikes should play no part in your buying decision.
If you are seriously considering Cyprus for an investment property, take a look around, make a short-list of what's for sale, and what claims estate agents are making about it, then go and inform yourself independently as much as you can. You may be surprised by how much information you can find on the Internet if you start looking. And whatever you do, make sure you have someone looking out for your interests rather than a developer's.
With regards to the question as to whether or not prime Cyprus investment property still exists then, the answer is a resounding YES. But one has to stay on the ball, and do a certain amount of independent research to make sure that the claims made are really what they seem to be.
* over four years after the proposal was unceremoniously rejected
**still on hold as of October 5th 2010 |
