| Cyprus has been having an eventful year | | | | highly affordable property. The Daily |
| so far, with New Year's Day bringing the | | | | Telegraph said as much this week when it |
| adoption of the euro as its official | | | | pointed out that a two-bedroom apartment |
| currency, the election of a new | | | | in Paphos with access to a swimming poll |
| president, Dimitris Christofias and with | | | | and views of the deep blue sea could |
| him the tantalising prospect of better | | | | still be bought for only £136,000. Such |
| relations with northern Cyprus, perhaps | | | | an investment in a tourist area could |
| even leading to a permanent solution to | | | | have buy-to-let potential, not least if |
| the division of the island into Greek | | | | the current advertising campaign fronted |
| and Turkish segments that has remained | | | | by Cypriot tennis star Marcos Baghdatis |
| intractably in place since 1974. | | | | is successful. UK viewers may have seen |
| Since Mr Christofias was elected the | | | | some of the adverts on television |
| talk has been about possible | | | | already. |
| reunification and this week even more so | | | | Buy-to-let for UK tourists may be a |
| with the opening of a previously sealed | | | | major area of growth for investors in |
| border crossing in Nicosia. In the | | | | the market, as in many respects the |
| property sector there has, meanwhile, | | | | country is perfectly suited for Britons. |
| been talk about the possibilities the | | | | As the Galway advertiser has pointed out |
| north may offer. | | | | in an article on investment in property |
| However, the south is where it is at in | | | | there, the road signs are mostly in |
| the here and now and those crossing the | | | | English and the language is widely |
| border into the south may be doing | | | | spoken. While the historical and |
| exactly what investors should. | | | | colonial links with Britain may be of |
| This is certainly what the facts | | | | less interest to Irish visitors, the |
| suggest, Forbes has stated. In an | | | | paper points out that it is a country |
| article on Europe's best and worst | | | | popular with tourism from the Emerald |
| property markets, based on data from the | | | | Isle partly for these linguistic |
| Royal Institution of Chartered | | | | reasons. |
| Surveyors, it noted that Cyprus property | | | | The paper adds that the centre of the |
| saw the second highest rate of Cyprus | | | | tourist industry is indeed around Paphos |
| property price inflation last year | | | | (something which may make that £136,000 |
| behind Poland. Unlike its east European | | | | apartment yet more enticing), while |
| counterpart, however, the Mediterranean | | | | offering a variety of attractions |
| island has subsequently gained the | | | | ranging from sun and sand to the winter |
| advantage of being part of the single | | | | skiing opportunities afforded by Mount |
| European currency, which may inspire | | | | Troodos in the winter. |
| greater confidence among investors than | | | | So while the political observers of |
| the zloty. | | | | Cyprus take an interest in the north, |
| Despite the rate of house price | | | | there is every reason, it seems, for |
| inflation rising from 7.6 per cent to 15 | | | | property investors to concentrate on |
| per cent, Cyprus still has plenty of | | | | Paphos and the rest of the south. |