The Sunday Times May 29, 2022 21
Constantis says that there are two
types of British homebuyers here: the
ones after holiday bolt holes who “tend to
buy apartments for less than €300,000,
mainly to have a place to go to”, and
digital nomads or pensioners looking
to relocate. “They prefer two or three-
bedroom detached houses in a village
setting. These are people coming to
live here; they make good use of the
properties and they don’t mind mixing
with the locals.”
It’s not hard to see why these homes
are so popular. They are enormous by
British standards and solidly built. They
are also fairly cheap, with the average
house price in Paphos last year little more
than €100,000.
Constantis adds that “the nicest thing
about the Brits is that they club together”.
In the Kamares Village, which he says
was created specifically to accommodate
British demand for such properties,“Headquartering” is another attractive
option. Foreign companies can relocate
to the island, which has the EU’s lowest
corporate tax rate at 12.5 per cent, with
70 per cent of their staff.
Most of the businesses are moving
to Limassol, the largest port and the
business centre of the island, located an
hour away from Paphos. If the latter is
quiet, low-rise and relaxed, Limassol —
locally nicknamed Limassolgrad — is busy,
urban and dotted with skyscrapers.
“You won’t find any Cypriots in
Limassol,” my driver says as he parks in
front of Limassol Del Mar, two imposing
white towers on the city’s seafront. Prices
start at €1.65 million for a two-bedroom
flat with furniture designed by the Italian
company Gianfranco Ferré Home.
Lena Flourentzou moved to Cyprus
from Ukraine in the early 2000s and
married a local. “I’m Cypriot... by
passport, 100 per cent,” she says with a
laugh. She is a sales executive at Limassol
Blu Marine development, a two-tower
scheme under construction next to the
new marina. She explains that this former
industrial area, Aktaia Odos, is the only
part of the city where construction of
high-rise buildings is allowed. “In five
to ten years this will be our new riviera,”
Flourentzou says. Prices at Limassol
Blu Marine start from €650,000 for a
one-bedroom flat, €1 million for two
bedrooms and €1.275 million for a
three-bedroom flat.
Most of the homebuyers here come
from the former USSR or Israel. I ask
Flourentzou if there are any Cypriot
buyers. “No. Most of them can’t afford it,”
she says candidly. “Also Cypriots have this
tradition that they give their sons a piece
of land to build their own house. They
prefer to live in the countryside.” Another
thing they have in common with the Brits.
And on an island with up to 340 sunny
days a year, who can blame them?THE MED DID NEXT
there is a bridge club, a bowling club and
a choir — all run by Brits.
“It’s a familiar environment for them,”
he says. “They have been holidaying here;
everyone speaks English. It’s like home,
but with better weather.”
With the golden passport programme
gone, Cyprus is trying to reposition
itself as a Monaco in the Middle East.
Foreigners moving to the island would get
a number of benefits, including zero
capital gains tax, zero foreign income tax
and no inheritance tax. There is also a
programme that allows buyers to get
permanent residency status if they buy a
property worth €300,000 or more.
Requirements, however, are strict. You
can’t sell your property or you would lose
the status (although you can sell and buy
another property on the island) and you
can’t get citizenship until you have been
here seven years; in the last one you
mustn’t leave Cyprus — not even for a day.Foreigners moving to the
island would get a number
of benefits, from zero
capital gains tax, zero
foreign income tax and no
inheritance tax
Above left: prices
at Limassol Blu
Marine are from
€650,000 for
a one-bedroom
flat through
Leptos Estates.
Above: a villa in
the Coral Seas
gated community
is on sale for
€3.3 million with
Leptos Estates