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Cyprus Real Estate Growth Driven By Resilient Residential And Office Sectors

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

December 29, 2025

Robust Residential Momentum

Cyprus’ property market has demonstrated remarkable resilience and growth, with apartment prices climbing approximately 6 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024. Danos and Associates’ recent Market Insight Report highlights that robust demand, coupled with constrained supply, has been central to this upward trajectory. Foreign buyers, increasing by 16 percent in 2023 to nearly 6,900 transactions, underscore the market’s attractiveness and reinforce the role of residential activity as the key driver of performance.

Diverse District Dynamics And Construction Trends

Regional growth has been uneven yet promising, with annual house price gains ranging from 2.6 percent in Paphos to 10.9 percent in Famagusta. Limassol continues to dominate transaction values, even as Larnaca and Paphos exhibit robust increases. The construction sector supports this momentum, with building permits rising by 8.3 percent year-on-year and planned residential units surging by over 24 percent. However, escalating construction costs, stricter sustainability standards, and higher financing charges are beginning to influence project scope and timing.

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Surging Office Demand And Evolving Commercial Landscape

The commercial property segment, particularly Grade A office spaces, is booming. Elevated demand, driven by foreign investment and the expansion of international companies, has pushed office rents higher across key cities. Limassol, for instance, now sees rents between €25 and €50 per square metre, while Larnaca has experienced the sharpest rate increases. This trend, however, contrasts with a more complex retail sector where consumer behaviour is shifting and non-essential sales have moderated.

The Retail Sector: A Tale Of Two Markets

Retail performance in Cyprus presents a bifurcated story. While essential sectors like food, beverages, and tobacco remain robust amidst cost-of-living pressures, non-essential retail is facing a slowdown with diminished growth in categories such as information technology and automotive fuel. Shopping malls continue to outperform street-level shops, commanding prime rents of around €70 per square metre per month—a substantial increase from pre-pandemic levels—due to their ability to offer a controlled environment that integrates retail, dining, and entertainment. Conversely, fragmented street-level retail struggles against rising operating costs and shifting consumer preferences, leading to a broader rebalancing of urban core functions.

Looking Ahead: Opportunities And Challenges

Future investment in Cyprus’ real estate market appears promising, bolstered by stable GDP growth projections near 3 percent in 2025, reduced unemployment, and healthy public finances. Upcoming large-scale shopping mall projects in eastern Limassol, spearheaded by Atterbury Europe and a joint venture between Nicosia Mall and the Papantoniou Group, signal further competitive dynamics in commercial centres. Moreover, opportunities in logistics, driven by the island’s strategic location and infrastructural improvements, hint at a broader, long-term evolution within the market. Despite these promising signs, developers and investors must navigate rising costs, tighter credit, and evolving regulatory landscapes as they plan for the future.

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Meta’s $18 Billion Settlement Limits State Claims Over Children’s Data

by News Editor

August 28, 2026

Meta’s $18 billion settlement with attorneys general from 29 U.S. states includes a provision limiting future state claims over the company’s use of children’s data for age-assurance systems.

Under the agreement, Meta must develop, train and begin testing a system to identify users under 13 within a year of the settlement taking effect. The company already uses AI-based age-detection tools, although the agreement does not require the new system to use AI.

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States Agree To Limits On Future Claims

The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) generally restricts the collection and retention of personal data from children under 13. Under the settlement, the 29 state attorneys general agreed not to bring past, present or future claims under COPPA or similar state laws over the specified use of children’s data.

Meta will not be permitted to use information from users under 13 for advertising, marketing or algorithmic optimisation.

Federal Enforcement Remains Unclear

COPPA is primarily enforced by the Federal Trade Commission, which is not a party to the agreement. That leaves open the possibility of separate federal action over how Meta collects or uses children’s data.

Another issue is whether Meta can keep age-assurance data isolated from its other systems. An independent auditor will monitor compliance, but the settlement does not fully specify what data Meta can retain for training, how long it can be stored or whether derived insights can be used elsewhere.

Legal Risks Remain

Joshua Wurtzel, a partner at Schlam Stone & Dolan, said states could still pursue claims if Meta uses the data outside the settlement’s limits. Such cases could depend on how those limits are interpreted.

Peter Jackson, a data and intellectual property attorney at Greenberg Glusker, said the provision could “disincentivize future enforcement actions.”

The agreement gives Meta greater legal certainty around using children’s data for age assurance, but questions remain over federal enforcement, data retention and secondary use.