One of the sectors of the economy that will be affected most by Coronavirus pandemic is real estate, which makes up to 20% of the country’s GDP. Experts predict a rapid drop in rental and sales of apartments, houses and commercial real estate.
Petros Danos, Executive Director of An Alliance Group of Companies, said that the will be a lot of new offers in the real estate market. Owners of the apartment for short term rent, will start to offer their housing for long term, that’s the reason why the prices
will start to fall rapidly. “Covid-19 will change a balance of Cyprus economy, especially in the real estate market. It does not look like crisis in 2010, the period of “haircutting deposits”, the expert said. He added, that rising of unemployment also contributes some people to sell their own properties. Retail market will be affected by reducing of tourists and opening of internet stores.
Danos predicts, returning of the investors to EU market in the last quarter of 2020. Buy now its quite difficult to predict the result, because it depends on how the situation will progress in the countries, where investors live. “The income, that available for investments has decreased, but, no matter how its may sound strange, it is a secondary issue, especially against the background of countries that closed their borders, on the quarantine and cancelling all flights. So now any foreigner will be perceived as a disease carrier, because his country has not taken all the necessary measures to contain the coronavirus, or there have been a lot of outbreaks of the disease,”- Danos said.
In Cyprus, there are about 80 000 people, who own from 1 to 10 properties. In their hands concentrated about 198 000 leased premises. There are private individuals, they depend on the regularity and stability of the rent fee, and often from this money they pay for their own credit obligations. According to the last opinion polls, 30% of tenants already say that they cannot pay rent, another 55% anticipate such difficulties in the future. “The solution to solve this problem in the sphere of honest and open negotiations between the owner and the tenant, as well as how stable the banking system will be,”- said the expert.
Source: vkcyprus