CYPRUS’ remarkable three-year housing boom ended in 2008. The market’s peak was in November 2008; after that, prices began to fall.
According to MAP S.Platis, who prepare the BuySell Home Price Index, average home prices fell by 2.17% (-3.22% in real terms) year-on-year, to € 187,053 in March 2009.
The crunch was mainly caused by lower demand from British buyers, who comprise around 70% of all foreign buyers in Cyprus. The UK recession and the weakening of the pound against the euro has prompted British buyers to look for non-Euro destinations, according to Global Finance, a business and finance magazine. Property demand from non-Cypriots buyers fell by 50% in the last period of 2008.
