Real estate is too difficult to mention in the market.

Cyprus is facing a housing crisis as young families cannot afford to buy property due to soaring prices and supply is rapidly dwindling due to the arrival of thousands of people on the island.

President Nikos Christodoulides recently called it "an unprecedented housing crisis, mainly concerning the younger generations." "The particularly high cost of building a house and the difficulty in obtaining financing have excluded many of our compatriots from the housing market. "I would like to point out that the cost of affordable housing, whether buying or renting, has skyrocketed," Christodoulides said recently.

Despite promising to introduce a comprehensive affordable strategy in the coming months, the government has been criticized for "not doing much". In comments to the Financial Mirror, Green Party leader and MP Haralambos Theopemptos said that calculating birth and death rates, combined with newcomers, the available supply cannot meet the needs.

Parliament has been pressing the government to inform it about the amount of affordable housing for young couples in the next ten years, but has received only a vague answer. "Based on government data on mortality and fertility rates and information on the number of migrants, refugees from Ukraine and employees of high-tech companies moving to Cyprus, we estimate that an additional 2,000 to 3,000 new homes will need to be built every year for the next decade," Theopemptos said. The MP expects that the population of Cyprus will increase by 6,000 people every year.

"There is no comprehensive housing and planning strategy in Cyprus. "The best example is the government's decision to establish the Cyprus University of Technology in the center of Limassol, where it is almost impossible to rent an apartment to students due to exorbitant rents and lack of supply," Theopemptos said. He explained that most of the available accommodation is occupied by employees of offshore and high-tech companies moving to Cyprus. The MP said that supply is being reduced further due to demand from Ukrainian refugees who fled their country after the Russian invasion last year. A government program to sponsor hotels for Ukrainian refugees to stay ends on Wednesday. About 3,000 Ukrainian refugees will be looking for rental accommodation, according to the government. Most of the Ukrainian refugees live in Limassol and Larnaca.

The Green Party spokesperson believes that the state should present an affordable housing strategy. "This has been done everywhere in the EU. "It's called social and community housing.

Realtors confirm that the shortage of residential properties has led to an unprecedented rise in rents and property prices. In comments to the Financial Mirror, Ask WiRE CEO Pavlos Loizou said, "We have seen prices rise over the last ten years with a reduction in supply." Loizou claims that excluding luxury properties, only a handful of housing projects have been built in the last 15 years. "The sector was hit by international real estate at the beginning of the previous decade when almost nothing was built until 2016 when the industry started growing again," Loizou said. He noted that developers in the following years focused on projects aimed at foreign investors seeking a Cypriot passport. "This continued until 2020, when the program was shut down after several scandals. "Unfortunately, the industry was frozen due to the coronavirus pandemic." He said the industry has sought to navigate the last year by building housing for local people on a low budget. "However, the movement in the industry is not enough to meet the increased demand from newcomers to Cypriot society, such as Ukrainians, Israelis and Lebanese. "This shortage of supply has raised prices and the only way to reduce prices is to increase supply. "This would mean not only an increase in housing projects but also affordable housing." He argues that government intervention will not solve the problem, as it will only cater for hundreds of citizens, while

President Christodoulides has pledged to fulfill his campaign promises to introduce an affordable housing strategy. He said the government has decided to develop a new housing policy framework and will soon create a single housing agency that will be responsible for formulating the state's housing policy to meet the needs of citizens. "The government has decided to come up with a new housing policy framework."