Property investment >Investment

CYPRUS property prices are poised to increase by 50 per cent when the island joins the eurozone in 2007, by when mortgage rates will have to drop from 7.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent, according to British property experts.

Stuart Law, Managing Director of Assetz International, told the British property site in2perspective.com that: “High standards and low costs of living along with virtually non-existent crime rates and numerous tax advantages makes Cyprus an attractive option for UK investors.”

Assetz said prices in Cyprus were still considerably lower than France or Spain, with a three-bedroom detached villa with a private pool costing around £250,000 sterling in Cyprus, which would only stretch to a large two-bedroom apartment in the South of France.

British nationals living in Cyprus account for 1.5 per cent of the total population, with British retirees able to draw their pension without paying UK withholding tax, at a flat rate of 5 per cent.

Assetz said the most popular destination for tourists and homebuyers was Paphos, but ‘up and coming’ areas included Polis and Larnaca, both of which enjoy lower prices than Paphos with high capital growth expected as tourists look further afield towards traditional Cypriot villages.

The site also advises Britons against buying property in the north for the time being due to the legal situation.

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