In the first quarter of the year, house and apartment prices rose 4.9% and 3.3% compared to the respective period last year, RICS said in an emailed statement on Wednesday. Office prices rose an annual 2.8%, while in the case of warehouses and shops the increase was 2.6% and 4.4% respectively.

The increase in flat prices in the first quarter of the year was the highest ever since RICS began monitoring Cyprus’s property market and follow a general recovery of the property market following the recent crisis years.

Prices for shops and offices rose 0.2% and 1.2% in the first quarter compared to the quarter before, while warehouse prices plunged 3.7%, RICS said.

In January to March, the strongest increase in house and flat prices was in Larnaca where they rose a quarterly 2.8% and 4.6% respectively, RICS said.

Buyers of holiday houses had to pay 1.7% more in the first quarter while those who acquired a holiday flat had to pay 1.3% more compared to the fourth quarter of 2016, it said. The highest increase in holiday flat prices was in Limassol with 2.9% and in the case of holiday houses in Paralimni with 2.1%.

Renting a flat in the first quarter of the year was on average 2.5% more expensive island-wide while renting a house became 2.6% less affordable, RICS said. Shop and office rents rose 1.6% and 4.6% while warehouse rents remained unchanged.

Rents rose an annual 5.5% in the first quarter in the case of flats, 9.6% for houses, 6.3% for flats, 3.1% for offices and 11% for warehouses, RICS said.

Source: Cyprus Mail