Cyprus President And Turkish Cypriot Leader Explore New Crossing Points In Key Meeting

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

January 20, 2025

On Monday, President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar will meet at the residence of the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative in Cyprus, Colin Stewart, located in the UN Protected Area at Nicosia airport. The two leaders will discuss the potential opening of new crossing points across the divided island.

This meeting follows an October 15, 2024 agreement made during an informal dinner hosted by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York. The leaders had expressed a shared interest in exploring ways to increase movement between the north and south of Cyprus.

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The Greek Cypriot side has already proposed the opening of crossing points at Pyroi and Kokkina, which were submitted during prior meetings of the negotiators with Stewart. Meanwhile, the Turkish Cypriot side has raised the possibility of opening a regular crossing point at Mia Milia.

In his recent report to the UN Security Council on the renewal of the UNFICYP mandate, Guterres welcomed the commitments made by both Cypriot leaders to consider the opening of additional crossing points. “We are approaching the meeting with a constructive attitude and a commitment to progress,” stated the Government Spokesman to the Cypriot News Agency (CNA) on Sunday. He noted that the groundwork had been laid with specific proposals and positions, and expressed hope that these would be discussed with the same positive and sincere spirit.

In the lead-up to the meeting, residents of the Paphos district gathered on Saturday in Pachyammos, advocating for the opening of a crossing point at Kokkina. On Friday, joint events were held by Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot organizations at the Ayios Dometios checkpoint, calling for the establishment of new crossing points.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied the island’s northern third. Despite several rounds of UN-led peace talks, a comprehensive settlement has yet to be reached, with the latest negotiations held at the Crans-Montana resort in Switzerland in July 2017 ending without progress.

The informal meeting in New York in October saw both leaders agree to continue dialogue under the UN Secretary-General’s auspices, focusing on the way forward and the opening of new crossing points to foster trust and facilitate movement across the island.

The Future Forbes Realty Global Properties

Cyprus Permit Delays Can Add €61,000 To The Cost Of A New Home

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

August 25, 2026

Housing affordability in Cyprus is being affected not only by property prices, construction costs and interest rates, but also by delays in securing planning and building permits. For developers, years of waiting can add millions of euros to project costs and tens of thousands of euros to the price of an individual home.

Property Prices And Rents Continue To Rise

House prices in Cyprus rose 3.4% year on year in the first quarter of 2026, according to Eurostat, leaving prices about 50% above their 2015 level. Rents have also continued to increase, with the Cyprus Statistical Service reporting annual growth accelerating from 2.5% in January to 4.5% in April.

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Strong demand and limited supply are adding pressure to both markets. Delays earlier in the development cycle can further restrict the number of homes reaching the market.

Four-Year Delay Adds €6.3 Million To Project Costs

A recent analysis by Yiannis Misirlis, chairman of the Cyprus Land and Building Developers Association, illustrates the financial impact. The example involves a 125-apartment project with €7 million allocated to land and an estimated €25 million for construction, bringing the initial cost to €32 million.

If permits are secured within six months, the average sale price would be about €307,000 per apartment. A four-year permitting delay, however, would add about €1.7 million in financing costs tied to the land, €800,000 in additional overheads and €3.8 million from construction cost inflation.

Combined, those costs would add about €6.3 million to the project without increasing the developer’s profit. The average apartment price would rise to about €368,000, adding roughly €61,000 to each unit.

Delays Also Affect Rental Supply

Higher development costs can affect renters as well as buyers. When projects are delayed, fewer homes enter the market over a given period, limiting supply while demand continues to grow.

Build-to-rent projects face the same pressures from land costs, financing, overheads and construction inflation. Developers may ultimately pass some of those additional costs through to rents.

Government Moves To Increase Housing Supply

Reducing permitting times would not require weaker planning controls or construction standards. More predictable approval timelines would instead allow developers and investors to plan projects with greater certainty and reduce the costs associated with prolonged delays.

The Ministry of Interior has introduced planning incentives and additional building coefficients that are expected to support the construction of more than 2,500 homes over the next two years. The measures are intended to increase housing supply in a market where demand remains strong.

Permitting Delays Have A Direct Financial Cost

For developers, longer approval periods increase financing and overhead costs while exposing projects to higher construction prices. Those costs can ultimately affect sale prices, rents and the number of homes that reach the market.

Cyprus’ housing affordability challenge therefore extends beyond land and construction costs. The time required to move a project from planning to construction can also determine how much buyers and renters eventually pay.

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