New developments VS resale homes: 5 main advantages in favour of new homes in Cyprus

New developments VS resale homes: 5 main advantages in favour of new homes 

This year Cyprus has become an even more popular destination for relocation. This is confirmed by the statistics of property sales to foreigners. An easy and fast way to get permanent residency by investing in new property encourages people to buy a new home in order to secure a comfortable life on the island. However, this is not the only advantage of new buildings, although fundamentally important for foreigners. Why choose a new home over a resale and why the demand for new buildings will continue to grow – please read below.

Why is the demand for new builds growing in Cyprus?     

The pandemic has forced those wishing to move to Cyprus to postpone their plans: although the deals could be done online, many buyers prefer to choose their homes personally, as they want to feel the atmosphere and energy of the place where they will live. In our previous blog articles we have already told how to choose a property in Cyprus. This is the so-called pent-up demand. At the same time, the pandemic has had another effect that subsequently became an incentive to move: the proportion of employees working remotely has increased worldwide. High-paid remote workers are now welcome in almost all countries. Since the opening of the borders, this category of people have been actively searching for a comfortable place to live permanently. For many, Cyprus has become the best place to live. Another reason is the political instability in many countries. For some people this was the motivation to pursue a previously suspended move; for others it was a mere necessity to flee to a safer country. It is also worth bearing in mind that Cyprus is purposefully attracting companies from the IT sector to work on the island, offering the most comfortable taxation in Europe. Demand for permanent homes in Cyprus this year is therefore driven by a range of factors that will continue to work in the foreseeable future.

 Why choose new buildings

1. Easy path to permanent residency

Obtaining a residence permit through investing in a new property plays a big role in the popularity of this segment among foreigners moving to the island. Buying a resale property, regardless of its value, does not give the possibility of obtaining permanent residency. In order to have the permanent resident status one should invest in Cyprus property worth min €300,000 + VAT. The registration procedure will take only a couple of months and the applicants may obtain the status not only for themselves and their spouses, but also for their children and parents.
2. New quality of construction

In any country, real estate built 10-15 years ago differs a lot from the modern projects not only in style but also in quality of construction. It is all about modern materials and improving construction standards. Despite beautiful climate, Cyprus has its own peculiarities: long hot summer and humid, albeit warm winters. So modern materials have to perform several tasks - keep cool in summer and warm in winter, and protect from humidity. The developers will be happy to show the potential buyers exactly how these issues can be resolved.

3. Savings on utility bills

This year, citizens of all European countries are receiving higher utility bills than ever before due to increasing energy prices. Your utility bill is directly related to the energy efficiency of your home. The energy efficiency class is affected by a number of factors, in particular the quality of the building's construction and materials and the use of different energy saving technologies. New developments in Cyprus have high energy efficiency levels, whereas older buildings unfortunately do not. You can now buy apartments in Cyprus with the highest energy efficiency class. It is worth noting here that these will be quite expensive projects.

4. Choice of design

A big advantage of buying at the construction phase is the possibility of finding the ideal project in terms of interior and exterior design or even create a bespoke custom design. There is, of course, a chance to find a resale property that matches your taste 100%, but even then, if you decide to buy a resale home in Cyprus, you have to put up with varying degrees of wear and tear on the furniture and appliances.

5. Clean deal

A newly-built property has never been lived in. Although such transactions should also be handled by a qualified lawyer, they completely exclude the possibility of the deal being challenged, for example, by heirs.