Company Profile

Antonis Loizou & Associates is a professional firm of Chartered Surveyors offering valuation, estate agency and project management services. The firm was set up in 1980 and is the largest and most comprehensive professional firm of Chartered Surveyors in Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean over the last 32 years. The firm employs 55 members of staff across 7 offices in Cyprus and Romania, and is one of the leading real estate advisors for corporations, finance houses, as well as the local government and individual members of the public.       About us
 

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Issue 38
August 2012

Cyprus Economy

• The fiscal balance experienced the worst performance of the past 17 years in the second quarter of 2012, upsetting the government’s plans and creating a need for more measures, as Stockwatch stated. Cystat’s data released show that the first half deficit reached 3.06% of GDP against 3.53% in the first half of 2011 and fell to €557.4 million against €626.5 million last year.

• According to Cystat, saloon car registrations fell for the 19th consecutive month in July. The car market is sinking and it seems that there are no prospects of improvement. According to Cystat data released, total private saloon car registrations dropped 14.9% to 1,716 compared to 2,016 in July 2011. Based on same figures by an article of Stockwatch, new saloon car registrations fell 5.3% to 879 from 928 in July 2011. Similarly, used car registrations slumped 23.1% to 837 from 1,088.

•  Inflation in the euro area remained stable at 2.4% in July 2012. Compared to a year earlier the rate was 2.6% Monthly inflation change was -0.5% in July 2012. According to Eurostat the lowest annual rates were observed in Sweden (0.7%), Greece (0.9%), Germany and Latvia both at 1.9%. The highest annual rates were recorded in Hungary (5.7%), Malta (4.2%) and Estonia (4.1%). Compared with June 2012 annual inflation fell in twelve Member States, remained stable in one and rose in fourteen.
• Commerce Minister, Neoclis Silikiotis referred to CERA’s decision to allow the implementation of a pilot program, stressing that the installation of photovoltaics will be co-financed by the European Union to 125 homes in Cyprus with a maximum installed capacity of 7 KW. According to the Minister, the energy to be produced will cover the needs of every home, while if there is a surplus, it will be sold to EAC. “Households will be selected with income criteria, since apart from enhancing electricity production from RES, the program helps low-income households to have cheap electricity”, he said.

Cyprus Property Market

• The RICS Cyprus Property Price Index the second quarter of 2012 was published earlier this month. It has recorded significant falls across Cyprus mayor urban areas. The recordings shoed that we have a falling of prices and rents across all districts. Nicosia and Limassol had the worst figures as they were the least affected markets up until June 2012. Quarter on quarter, residential prices for both houses and flats fell by 1.2%, and 2.0% respectively, with the biggest drop recorded in Limassol, which was 3.4% for apartments and 2.3% for houses. Values of retail properties fell by an average of of 3.0% whilst those of offices and warehouses fell by 2.1% and 3.2% respectively. According to Mr Pavlos Loizou, Member of the RICS Cyprus, a possible investment on property will a risky investment. He stated that according to the current conditions of the property market, the residential units as well as the commercial ones, are characterised as investments having high risk values, for the short and medium terms. This affected the potential buyers and investors (locals and foreigners) who are less interested now leading to a low volume of property sales.

Global Property Market & Economy

• U.K. house prices fell in August for a second month as demand declined amid a “fragile” market, Hometrack Ltd. said. Values slipped 0.1 percent from July, when they also fell 0.1 percent, the London-based property-research company said in a report published on a Bloomberg article. A measure of demand fell for a third month, dropping 1.3 percent, while a gauge of supply rose 0.8 percent. Britain’s property market remains under pressure as the economy struggles to recover from a recession and the euro-area debt crisis drags on, undermining confidence and pushing up lending costs. Bank of England officials are assessing the impact of their new plan to boost credit as they mull whether to expand stimulus for the economy through quantitative easing.
• Investors from London to Tokyo to Pittsburgh are plowing money back into Treasuries after the biggest decline in 19 months, betting that even an improving global economy won’t ignite a bear market in bonds. Hedge funds and large speculators raised bullish positions in 10-year Treasury note contracts this month to the highest since March 2008. Yields, which surged to 1.86 percent Aug. 21, sparking the worst investor losses for a four-week period since December 2010, will be little changed by year-end, according to the median forecast of 81 strategists surveyed by Bloomberg.
• The British economy contracted less in the second quarter than was originally estimated, according to newly revised figures. Gross domestic product (GDP) - a broad measure of the economy - fell 0.5% between April and June in the Office for UK National Statistics' second estimate. But despite the upward revision, it still represents the biggest quarter-on-quarter fall for more than three years and means the economy remains mired in the longest double-dip recession since the 1950s. New figures also showed the UK's trade deficit increased to £7.3bn, up from £3.7bn in the previous quarter as the Eurozone debt crisis hit exports - its biggest fall since the third quarter of 2010, which wiped 1% off the GDP figure.Business investment also fell for the first time for more than a year.

English Articles of the Month

Nicosia’s Development 5/8/2012 Nicosia has not any major attractions to attract tourists, as well as locals. Most Nicosia town people, daily, but especially over the weekends, visit the towns of Limassol and Larnaca (especially the first) supporting those towns’ economy, hurting the capital’s income with no reciprocal benefits. So, Nicosia not only does not attract tourists, but in addition a proportion of its local spending power ends up in other towns. Read Article   Tax Clearance – Resales 29/7/2012 When one decides to sell his own property he must provide a tax clearance from the Income Tax Authorities, in order for the transfer to be effected. In its simplest form the cost of the original purchase is calculated (including transfer fees) plus any improvements/ alterations done to the property (for which receipts are needed to be presented) and on top you add the indexation (basically the cost of living index from the date of acquisition). In most cases you will find that the tax burden of capital gains (20% on the difference) after allowing for the exemptions etc etc is practically next to nothing.  Read Article

Allowances for Capital Gains Tax in Cyprus	22/7/2012
Capital gains tax is payable by both residents and non-residents at a rate of 20% on the gains made from the disposal / sale of immovable property in Cyprus in relation to the cost acquisition. If the property was acquired prior to 1.1.1980 the property’s value is adopted as at 1.1.1980 and this value is so recorded on the title deed. If after 1.1.1980 the actual cost of acquisition is adopted. In both cases the acquisition cost is upgraded / inflated, based on the cost of living index, so published on a monthly basis by the Cyprus Government. Read Article

Football & Finance + VAT	15/7/2012
It is possible dear readers that the above two have any direct relation? But it has, since everything is possible within the Eurozone. So the prime minister of Italy being encouraged by his football team win over Germany raised his flag of revolt and all E.U. members have decided (with the help of the Spanish prime minister and some help from the French) to exclude the individual Banks’ help from the European bank, from calculating a country’s total debt (described in the simplest form). Will this help Cyprus?  Read Article

Greek Articles of the Month

Ξένοι + Φορολογία	12/8/2012
Είναι δεδομένο ότι από τις περίπου 60.000 πωληθείσες μονάδες σε ξένους, ένα μεγάλο ποσοστό (έστω 20% = 12.000 μονάδες) ενοικιάζεται από αυτούς σε συμπατριώτες τους και άλλους. Αυτά τα λεγόμενα “holiday villas” διαφημίζονται τόσο επί τόπου, όσο και διεθνώς στο διαδίκτυο, ενώ υπάρχουν εξειδικευμένα γραφεία που χειρίζονται τέτοιες ενοικιάσεις. Εάν υποθέσουμε λοιπόν ότι οι 12.000 ενοικιαζόμενες μονάδες ενοικιάζονται προς €100/ημέρα για 90 ημέρες τον χρόνο, τότε το συνολικό εισόδημα είναι γύρω στα €108 εκ. Αυτό ισούται με ένα διαφυγών φόρο εισοδήματος μαζί με την άμυνα γύρω στα €22 εκ./χρόνο. Read Article

Εγγυήσεις + Ανοησία	5/8/2012
Ορισμένες τράπεζες έχουν σκεφθεί στην σοφία τους και υιοθέτησαν ένα νέο σύστημα δανειοδότησης αγοραστών κατοικιών όταν δεν υπάρχει τίτλος ιδιοκτησίας. Εκτός του ότι έχουν υποθήκη το έργο, εκτός από την εγγύηση του πωλητή, επιβάλλουν την έκδοση τραπεζικής εγγύησης για την ημερομηνία έκδοσης τίτλου, προς όφελος του αγοραστή. Δηλαδή, περίπου, η τράπεζα εγγυάται στον εαυτό της ότι θα εκδοθεί τίτλος και άρα η ίδια η τράπεζα είναι καλυμμένη από τον αγοραστή (δεν το καταλαβαίνουμε)! Read Article

Επικίνδυνη Απόφαση κα Μαύρου - Μυστικές Οδηγίες;	29/7/2012
Μέχρι τώρα αγαπητοί μας αναγνώστες ξέραμε ότι χωράφια σε αγροτικές περιοχές μπορούσαν να τύχουν ανάπτυξης με μια κατοικία εάν είχαν τις απαιτούμενες παραμέτρους. Στο παρόν άρθρο θα ασχοληθούμε με μια πρόσφατη περίεργη διαφοροποίηση των κανονισμών, που διαφοροποιεί την όλη κατάσταση, προκαλώντας αλυσιδωτές παρενέργειες σε επικίνδυνη μορφή. Τώρα, με οδηγία του Υπουργείου Εσωτερικών η παραχώρηση τέτοιας άδειας θα εξετάζεται με πολύ πιο αυστηρό τρόπο, σε σημείο απόρριψης αίτησης, για να περιορίσει έτσι την συνεχή και άναρχη ανάπτυξη. Με τα νέα δεδομένα, για να     Read Article

Μένουμε Κύπρο	22/7/2012
Υπάρχει ένα εξαιρετικό εβδομαδιαίο πρόγραμμα στην Ελληνική τηλεόραση με την ονομασία Μένουμε Ελλάδα. Η σειρά αυτή επί εβδομαδιαίας βάσης επισκέπτεται διάφορους τουριστικούς προορισμούς με εξαιρετική φωτογράφηση και με συνεντεύξεις ντόπιων όσο και τουριστών, Ελλήνων και ξένων (για τα Ελληνικά υπάρχουν και υπότιτλοι στα Αγγλικά). Ομολογουμένως, για εκείνους που δεν γνωρίζουν πολύ καλά την Ελλάδα, ο τηλεθεατής «επισκέπτεται» ορισμένους προορισμούς που σε προκαλεί για επίσκεψη. Το πρόγραμμα επιχορηγείται από τον Ε.Ο.Τ., διατίθεται τόσο σε CD όσο και στο διαδίκτυο για   Read Article

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«Living, Buing Property and Doing Business in Cyprus» on www.cyprusinformation.com is already tranlated to Chinese and Arabic and will also be available in Russian soon. The website's aim is to provide general information about Cyprus, with more emphasis for Real Estate, Tax and Legal matters. The website is part of a joint venture of Antonis Loizou & Associates – Chartered Surveyors,the international accountants KMPG Cyprus  and the largest Law Office in Cyprus A. Neocleous.

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