Renting in Limassol - forget about it

Renting in Limassol has become a mission impossible as real estate agencies report long waiting lists forming, a first for this coastal city.

Highly paid professionals moving to Cyprus, along with companies from the technology and finance sectors, have taken over the market as they are willing to pay much more for rent than locals. According to Elena Aristidou from the Limassol office of FOX Real Estate, quoted by the Stockwatch website, highly paid executives are willing to pay above the average salary on the island, around €1,860, just for a studio. "Highly paid employees can and are willing to pay up to €1,900 for studio rent, driving up prices and creating a shortage of apartments. "As a result, estate agents have long waiting lists," Aristidou said.

The problem further affects students seeking to rent accommodation in the city. Renting a second-rate studio outside the busy city center will cost around 500-700 euros per month. Renting a one-bedroom apartment starts at €700, and a two-bedroom apartment will cost between €1,000 and €1,200 a month. Two-bedroom apartments cost between 1,500 and 2,000 euros.

Meanwhile, Limassol is not the only coastal city to report a sharp rise in rents due to a shortage of apartments. According to local estate agent George Petrou, renting in Paphos is also becoming a challenge. "Foreign employees moving to Paphos, alone or with families, as well as Israelis buying property in the town, have raised rental prices. "At the same time, a lot of apartments are not offered on the market as they are rented out to vacationers through platforms such as Airbnb," Petrou said.

The situation in Nicosia is a little better, as Eleni Masonidou, a real estate consultant at FOX Nicosia, told Stockwatch. "Apartments are now available within a short distance of the universities," Masonidou said. She noted that apartments in Nicosia are usually quickly snapped up by international students who prefer to live alone. "After Brexit, due to the high costs of studying at British universities, the number of students has increased dramatically." As for rental prices, he said that in Engomi - Makedonitissa, close to the University of Nicosia and the European University, rents for: Studios range from €490 to €530 furnished. One-bedroom apartments, depending on the age of the building, cost between 550 and 820 euros. Two-bedroom apartments start at 650 euros and go up to 1000 euros. In the Aglantzia neighborhood, near the University of Cyprus, rental prices are the same.