Boom as buyers flock to North Cyprus
Property sales in North Cyprus are booming. More than seven thousand, mostly new, properties have been bought over the past two years, the demand fueled by a wave of investors from Germany, Russia, Ukraine, Sweden, Norway, Slovakia, Afrika, Israel and Iran.
According to the Turkish-Cypriot daily Halkin Sesi, 2,672 licenses to acquire plots were granted to Israeli citizens last year. Two thousand companies in the North are controlled by Israeli shareholders, who have bought 25 thousand acres of land, much of it in the Karpaz peninsula.
The paper also reported that two thousand acres have been bought in the Lefke area for development, while land and property sales are also up in Kyrenia and Iskele.
Halkin Sesi notes that a new community, dubbed ‘New Larnaca,’ has been created in Iskele, with apartment blocks, homes and services, such as supermarkets and cafeterias. The buyers are all foreign citizens. The price of a small fully furnished apartment in the area is estimated at around 100 thousand Euro.
Russians, Israelis and Iranians are now the top players in North Cyprus investments. British buyers, historically the most significant, are today being joined by Scandinavians, North Americans and those from southern Africa.
Emine Leblebicioğlu of the board of Cyprus Turkish Estate Agents said that property prices in the TRNC are still low compared to Europe. In a TV interview she said: “While £100,000 corresponds to a very large figure for us, this amount is very reasonable for (foreigners). This is why they are buying a considerable amount of property.”
She also noted that interest in property in North Cyprus had increased since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with demand rising particularly in the Kyrenia and Iskele areas. Prices were rising as the areas open to construction were limited, she added.
