Ten thousand houses sold to foreigners annually – Realtors and Contractors Association

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The demand of foreigners who want to own a house in the north of Cyprus increased after the pandemic. According to realtors and contractors, about 10 thousand houses are sold annually to foreign nationals.

Realtors and contractors said that the demand for foreigners who want to own a house in the north of Cyprus increased after the pandemic, stating that around 10 thousand houses are sold to foreigners annually.

Cafer Gürcafer, President of the Construction Contractors Association, explained that the sales increased a lot after the pandemic, and stated that a planned-programmed progress would benefit the country.  

Expressing that there is no fear of ‘goods are being sold to foreigners, the lands of the country are becoming alienated’ in the country.

Realtors Association President Hasan Sungur commented, “There is no foreign threat, so bringing convenience will not create a problem.

“Mentioning that the Law on the Acquisition and Leasing of Immovable Property would be beneficial, Gürcafer and Sungur emphasized the importance of ‘planned work’. 

CTIMB President Cafer Gürcafer said, “Sales have increased a lot. There is a market, there is demand, but we do not have a plan. If we act in a planned-programmed way, we can turn this into profit.”

Referring to the reason for the increasing demand that started during the pandemic process, Gürcafer said, “The pandemic has changed the future values ​​and judgments of many people in the world. The number of people who want to spend the rest of their life in a quiet and peaceful place has increased a lot. This has also increased the interest in us and in the south.”

Stating that there are ‘bad and worrying’ aspects in the increase in sales and demand, Gürfacer stated that there is no planned progress in this regard, “We do not have a market planning or a housing strategy. “We’re just trying to meet the demand,” he said.

Explaining that the sale of goods to foreigners should be considered as a very comprehensive project that should be emphasized.

Gürcafer continued as follows:

“The statements ‘we are left without land’ are very wrong. When a property permit issued to foreigners is investigated, the following result emerges: The person is in trouble to either reside or earn money by renting it to someone in his own country. We can provide social benefits in this regard. The profile of tourists staying in residences has increased a lot. It is wrong to evaluate the event as ‘our people cannot own a house’. There are expensive and cheap regions all over the world. There should be a social housing project in the country so that our people can own housing. We started an initiative for this project.There was no planning regarding the sale of goods to foreigners. This study should determine both the construction and housing strategy”

Hasan Sungur, President of the Association of Realtors:

Expressing that the demand for property sales to foreigners has increased, Realtor’s Association President Hasan Sungur noted that there is a liveliness in many sectors due to real estate sales.

Explaining that the fear of ‘goods are sold to foreigners, the lands of the country are alienating’ does not exist in the country yet.

Sungur said, “If the sale of property to foreigners in Turkey has not reached 10% within the scope of the region and 5% on the provincial basis, it is said that there is no problem. We are far below these sales,” he said.

Explaining that with the arrangement to be made, it is now possible for foreigners to buy a villa and 3 flats.

Sungur explained that it is deemed appropriate that there will be no loss of land with this method.

Expressing that foreigners do not make large investments in the country, Sungur stated that only very few investments are made in certain regions and said, “There is no foreign threat, so bringing convenience will not cause any problems. The law is still in the commission, there are very sensitive examinations,” he said.

Sungur continued as follows: “One of the main sectors that survive by contributing to the economy is the real estate sector. If support is given to both the sector and the regulations regarding the sale of goods by foreigners, it can turn into a serious advantage if it proceeds in a planned manner.”

Sharing the view that “the state no longer gives anything, it just takes”, Sungur reminded of ‘rural land and social housing projects’.

Emphasizing that the state should allocate land or build social housing for young people.

Sungur said, “It is our shame as a country that we do not build social housing for our own citizens. Social housing fund should be developed, young people should be able to own a house.

Workers should be supported for the construction of houses and opportunities should be created.

Instead of putting restrictions on constructions, social housing should be started with certain criteria in return,” he said.