Wealthy Russians, Chinese and Arabs are among those who actively buy properties in Cyprus. They purchase commercial real estates and luxury villas, the owners of which are not able to pay the loans. Prices eventually start to grow.
Starting from March 2017, the Tax Department of Cyprus will issue a Tax Residency Certificate to individuals until the end of the relevant tax year.
According to the circular issued by the Tax Department on March 10, 2017, individuals can be granted a Certificate of Tax Residence at any time throughout this tax year without prior residence in Cyprus for 183 days in total.
Recent changes to property taxes in Cyprus will benefit both those who have purchased property and those planning to purchase.
During January, 2017 a total of 423 contracts for the sale of commercial and residential properties and land (building plots and fields) were deposited at Land Registry offices across Cyprus, compared with the 327 deposited in January 2016. Of those 423 contracts, 330 (78%) were deposited by Cypriot purchasers and 93 (22%) were deposited in favour of overseas purchasers. Although sales in Famagusta fell 5% compared with January 2016, they increased in all the other districts. Limassol lead the way with sales up 43%, followed by Nicosia where sales were up 33%, while sales in Larnaca and Paphos rose by 31% and 19% respectively.
The number of building permits authorised in November 2016 stood at 550 compared with the 421 authorised in November 2015; a rise of 30.6 per cent according to official figures released by the Cyprus Statistical Service. Compared with November 2015, the total value of these permits rose 63.5% to €113.5 million, while their total area rose 56.1% to 100.3 thousand square metres. During November 2016, building permits were issued for: Residential buildings – 402 permits, Non-residential buildings – 102 permits, Civil engineering projects – 15 permits, Division of plots of land – 24 permits, Road construction – 7 permits.
