‘TRNC sitting on £1 billion PROPERTY BONANZA’
THE Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is sitting on a property “bonanza” that could generate a 20-billion TL tax boost to the country’s coffers — more than £1 billion at current exchange rates — the head of the Cyprus Turkish Building Contractors Association (KTİMB) has claimed.
Cafer Gürcafer said the figure is based on the amount of tax income that the state is “losing out” on from some 94,000 title deeds that cannot be “transferred” to prospective foreign buyers because of laws relating to property sales and military zones.
“There is a significant amount of money [to be made] . . . but because of the Military Zones Regulation, foreigners cannot buy houses or apartments within certain boundaries close to military zones,” he said.
Mr Gürcafer called for amendments to the law to allow such areas to be freed up for development.
He said that most North Cyprus property projects are aimed at the overseas market because demand from the domestic market has “stopped” due to the fall in people’s purchasing power.
“There is a very high demand from foreigner buyers, especially for areas such as Girne, Esentepe, Tatlısu, and Boğaz,” Mr Gürcafer said.
“The demand is coming from all over the world, particularly from the Scandinavian countries, Russia, Ukraine, China and Iran.”
Mr Gürcafer said the construction industry could be the “right tool” to lift the country out of the current economic crisis, provided that ministers adopt a “comprehensive” economic strategy and “proper planning”.
“The country has collapsed, hit rock bottom,” he said. “The state seeks money, civil servants are up in arms because we are getting poorer, shopkeepers are crying out that they can’t do business and are going bankrupt.
“That’s why we can’t sweep problems under the rug any more. We need an integrated solution . . . The human and economic resources of this country are enough to get it back on its feet.”
Mr Gürcafer added that the KTİMB has also prepared a “public housing project” for low-income TRNC citizens and those who are “really in need” but that “political stability” is required to implement it. “This can’t happen with governments that change every nine months,” he added.
FORBES
The international interest in North Cyprus as a property hotspot was highlighted last year when the prestigious US magazine Forbes named İskele, in the east of the country, as the best place in the world to buy a beach-front property.
It described the TRNC
as a “safe, welcoming destination with developed tourism infrastructure, including clubs, casinos, and luxury hotels, all more affordable than their counterparts in France or Italy”.
The article also said: “It’s possible to own an ocean-view condo with direct beach access for as little as $75,000 at current exchange rates (real estate in Northern Cyprus trades in British pounds). It’s also possible to buy with developer financing, meaning low capital requirements up-front.”
Forbes also noted that the politics of Cyprus can be “heated” and warned potential property buyers to “research the situation on the ground before investing”.