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IT’S A DIRTY JOB BUT SOMEONE’S GOT TO DO IT - COFFEESHOP PAGE 17 INSIDE Cyprus Security beefed up over Israeli fears 3
World Helicopters pound rebel-held Aleppo district 9
Lifestyle Increasing numbers of women having children younger 19
Sport Vinokourov crushes Cavendish’s gold hopes 40
Hope for slow property sales Forget the Brits and the Russians, it’s the Chinese who are buying up property By Bejay Browne
C
HINESE buyers are helping to rejuvenate the stagnant property market in Paphos where sales have risen by 25 per cent in recent months, industry professionals say. The once booming Paphos property market, formerly dominated by British buyers, collapsed in 2009 as a result of both the worldwide recession and the title deeds scandal in which buyers who had paid in full for their properties were left years later without possession of ownership documents. The collapse has had a serious knock on effect on the local economy which had long relied on tourism and property sales as an economic mainstay. “There has been a 25 per cent increase in Paphos sales according to recent official statistics and part of this increase is due to the Chinese purchasers,” said George Leptos of the Paphos-based developers the Leptos Group and head of the Paphos Chamber of Commerce (EVE).
Billboards along the main roads of Paphos are now advertising properties for sale in Chinese while developers have been actively targeting the Chinese market for some time. Their perseverance appears to have paid off. “We have various offices in China and we regularly attend various property exhibitions. All of our sales in recent months have been to Chinese clients,” said Sophia Charalambous of Korantina Homes. She said Chinese clients are keeping the company busy, and are choosing to purchase top end luxury properties. “We have many Chinese clients, mostly business people and families. Most of our clients have a budget of around €1,000,000,” she said. “The British market has almost dried up for us. We have the occasional Russian client but we are mainly working with the Chinese. Next week 12 prospective buyers are arriving and we will see how many make purchases.”
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Britain’s Queen Elizabeth looks up as she speaks with a member of Team GB at the athlete’s village during her visit to the Olympic Park in London yesterday