# Are they crazy, greedy... or am i crazy?



## zeebo (Nov 15, 2009)

Whilst driving though Pyla the other day i noticed loads of buildings that are half finished with overgrown gardens and rusty building equippment. It was clear that the builder had stopped for whatever reason... Now Pyla is too far from Nicosia for me so it probably isnt even an option, but I thought "gotta be worth a call"... 
Anyway i found a pretty average looking (well small) 3 bed in a row of other unfinished houses (Pyla dream homes the sign said).. Anyway I called this dude expecting to hear desperation and a competitive price and he said 425k.. wtf? If it because they hear my English accent and try it on or are they genuinly under the deluision that somone is going to buy it at that price? 

In my oppinion the Cyprus market is still way over priced. Ok Nicosia, Limassol have jobs and money coming in so i can understand a penthous or a house in aglangia costing money but places like Plya wouldnt even be looked at by city dwellers.. 

Where are these desperate companies and reposessed houses? Where are the holiday homes that people can no longer afford at rock bottom prices?


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## kimonas (Jul 19, 2008)

zeebo said:


> Whilst driving though Pyla the other day i noticed loads of buildings that are half finished with overgrown gardens and rusty building equippment. It was clear that the builder had stopped for whatever reason... Now Pyla is too far from Nicosia for me so it probably isnt even an option, but I thought "gotta be worth a call"...
> Anyway i found a pretty average looking (well small) 3 bed in a row of other unfinished houses (Pyla dream homes the sign said).. Anyway I called this dude expecting to hear desperation and a competitive price and he said 425k.. wtf? If it because they hear my English accent and try it on or are they genuinly under the deluision that somone is going to buy it at that price?
> 
> In my oppinion the Cyprus market is still way over priced. Ok Nicosia, Limassol have jobs and money coming in so i can understand a penthous or a house in aglangia costing money but places like Plya wouldnt even be looked at by city dwellers..
> ...



The prices are crazy - we've been flicking through the property pages to reassure ourselves that the investments we've made in a cheaper self build have been worthwhile. We were reassured - there's no way we could afford the property developers' prices - even one bedroomed studio flats are sometimes knocking on for 100k and even really tacky little semi-detached boxes are 200k+ Once you add a tiny patch of garden/pool and start on multiple bedrooms with ensuites, the prices just shoot off the scale with 500k+ not that uncommon. I'm sure you could beat them down a fair percentage in serious negotiations, but they're still way overpriced for what they are. We went on a tour of half-built properties recently with our plumber who was working on them - he was reasuuring us that the build on our place was sound. The state of workmanship generally was absolutely shocking...


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## zeebo (Nov 15, 2009)

Glad im not the only one who thinks its mad then. Now selfbuild is soemthing i havent even concidered.. i thougth all constructuion had to be done by a developer.. hence everyone is ripped off.. Hey i might be able to get a flat-pack house from ikea.. now all i need is land.. er yet again another shockingly overpriced entity!! In the UK its 7k an acre (out of urban area). In cyprus that would get you a 1x1 meter patch in the mountains.. 

Maybe when the cyprus problem is resolved it will ease things as i guess it is supply and deman.


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## kimonas (Jul 19, 2008)

zeebo said:


> Glad im not the only one who thinks its mad then. Now selfbuild is soemthing i havent even concidered.. i thougth all constructuion had to be done by a developer.. hence everyone is ripped off.. Hey i might be able to get a flat-pack house from ikea.. now all i need is land.. er yet again another shockingly overpriced entity!! In the UK its 7k an acre (out of urban area). In cyprus that would get you a 1x1 meter patch in the mountains..
> 
> Maybe when the cyprus problem is resolved it will ease things as i guess it is supply and deman.


We got a flat pack from Bulgaria, arrived in three lorries and was up in 41 days. The planning laws etc were a bit of a nightmare and there were significant delays with laying on services, but we've probably saved a few hundred thousand euros going down this route, and it's green having been contructed from managed forests, AAA insulation and energy efficient etc. I've seen much cheaper ready made units that bolt together at the last House Fair in Nicosia - it's possible to put together a house of 150m2 for 10s of thousands of Euros rather than hundreds of thousands. Of course the big but is having the land to put it on. Now that is expensive in the cities, but there are some cheaper plots that can be found. With a bit of research, I think you could put together a better house on a bigger plot for half of what the developer was asking for in your original post...


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## Cleo Shahateet (Feb 23, 2009)

Yes, there are some very high prices out there still and it is hard to believe. In Paphos, the bargains are found in resales mainly. The people, mainly expats, who are having financial troubles or those who bought so long ago that need or want to sell. All the people who recently (past 4 years) bought off-plan are usually the worst off and will lose a lot if they sell or they can't sell at all for a price they are happy with. 

An example of a bargain (or not - you can tell me) is a villa that was valued (don't know by who) at 1.4 million Euros and the owner tried to sell for that price then slowly over the years he reduced his selling price to 650,000 Euros. It is now under contract for 500,000 Euros. So, is it really a deal or not? The owner had bought it for 350,000 Euros or so years ago. There are some true bargains when owners are desperate or a property was inherited and the receipients are desperate but these generally sell very fast especially if they have title deeds. 

That said, there are some (not many) developers that are doing a good job and have some decent prices but you really have to look around or find someone trustworthy to help you find these properties. It is time consuming if you do it alone and like Kimonas said once you add extras it could be a lot more than what was advertised unless you find the right people to deal with.


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## Mycroft (Sep 9, 2009)

Up here in the mountains prices seem to be holding, although there are offers on. Also we understand that there are offers for young married couples buying their first house with grants and loans from the government, for new build houses in the mountain villages or for renovating old houses.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

Mycroft said:


> Up here in the mountains prices seem to be holding, although there are offers on. Also we understand that there are offers for young married couples buying their first house with grants and loans from the government, for new build houses in the mountain villages or for renovating old houses.


Young Cypriot couples buying their first house can get an interest free loan of €100K from the government in outlying villages. We had a young couple looking at a house in Geroskipou on the outskirts of Paphos. They really loved the house and wanted it but it turned out it was just 100 yards too close to Paphos itself to qualify for the scheme so they couldn't buy it


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## zeebo (Nov 15, 2009)

Hello,

Also found out that if you buy in the bufferxone the government will give you 17k towards the purchase as long as its your first purchase in cy and you are living here! Thats pretty cool!

If any of you know of these said desperados then please let me know if you have any bargains in striking distance of nicosia ;-)

Other than that it will be the Argos wodden house for 13k and a bit of scrub land


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## theresoon (Apr 11, 2008)

zeebo said:


> Hello,
> 
> Also found out that if you buy in the bufferxone the government will give you 17k towards the purchase as long as its your first purchase in cy and you are living here! Thats pretty cool!
> 
> ...


there is a house for sale on the very last street in Ayios Dhometios; big lots in this neighborhood too. I'll check for the number if you really are interested.


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## zeebo (Nov 15, 2009)

SOunds good please do forward on the details!


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

zeebo said:


> SOunds good please do forward on the details!


I thought you were thinking of going back to t he Uk zeebo because its too expensive to live here


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## zeebo (Nov 15, 2009)

just when i think its too expensive i find a possibility.. dunno just gonna go twith the flow


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## PeterJWall (Jul 24, 2008)

zeebo said:


> Whilst driving though Pyla the other day i noticed loads of buildings that are half finished with overgrown gardens and rusty building equippment. It was clear that the builder had stopped for whatever reason... Now Pyla is too far from Nicosia for me so it probably isnt even an option, but I thought "gotta be worth a call"...
> Anyway i found a pretty average looking (well small) 3 bed in a row of other unfinished houses (Pyla dream homes the sign said).. Anyway I called this dude expecting to hear desperation and a competitive price and he said 425k.. wtf? If it because they hear my English accent and try it on or are they genuinly under the deluision that somone is going to buy it at that price?
> 
> In my oppinion the Cyprus market is still way over priced. Ok Nicosia, Limassol have jobs and money coming in so i can understand a penthous or a house in aglangia costing money but places like Plya wouldnt even be looked at by city dwellers..
> ...



They generally believe that all Brits interested in buying a property have won the British National Lottery Jackpot. Explain to them that you worked hard to make the money, so they should see some sense. You have a 50/50 chance ! Good luck.


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