Wednesday 21 September 2022
The sale of houses to foreign buyers has dramatically increased after the pandemic, Yeniduzen reports. Purchasing property in countries like Cyprus has become increasingly attractive to foreigners.
Around 10,000 houses are sold annually to foreigners. There are positive sides to this, because companies can profit and foreigners have stronger purchasing power, President of the Building Contractors Union Cafer Gürcafer has said.
However, building housing is haphazard and unplanned in North Cyprus which can bring its own problems such as increasing demands on infrastructure, he stated.
Another concern is, as happens in many countries, wealthier house purchasers tend to drive up property prices, meaning that locals, who are on lower incomes are unable to buy their own homes.
Gurcafer’s solution was to provide more social housing in areas where land is cheaper.
Commenting on the subject, President of the Association of Realtors, Hasan Sungur referred to the topic of ‘rural and social housing projects’, emphasising that “the state no longer gives anything, it just takes”.
He stress 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”.
