Properties: Worse days to come, Loizou says

First Published:	02/12/2008 07:00:53
Last Updated:	03/12/2008 07:02:45
The property sector seems to go through a period of long recession and things might deteriorate in the next three years. In his interview to StockWatch, property valuator, Antonis Loizou made his forecasts for the current condition, stressing that the price of tourist properties have already dropped significantly by up to 20%. Mr. Loizou’s forecasts are in line with the forecasts of hundreds of businessmen who were included in the three surveys presented by StockWatch in the past few months and differ from the figures prepared on behalf of BuySell according to which there is an annual increase of 10%. The statements of Mr. Loizou, who has one of the biggest historic data bases in the domestic market, are released after the publication of the Central Bank’s estimates that the growth rate will fall to 2% in 2009, the lowest since 2003. In his interview, Mr. Loizou said that things in the property market will be clarified when the negative impacts from the global crisis affect the island’s tourism. “It might be the proper period for purchases”, he supported. On the other hand, he expects that the crisis will have longer duration and bigger depth. “Since the estimates referring to a crisis will come true, in 2009, possibly in 2010 and probably in 2011, prices will drop as those who have borrowed will not be able to bear the burden”, he noted. As for the developers, Mr. Loizou said that their new projects have frozen. “You must be lunatic to build at the current stage since the banks do not lend and a significant number of properties remains unsold”, he stressed. With regard to the dismissals, Mr. Loizou agreed with the construction workers who declared recently that by the next summer we will reduce the size of the crisis with the dismissal of 20 thousand employees in the sector. “Dismissals have already started in the seaside towns”, he added. Commenting on the measures that the Interior Ministry plans to take within the framework of the revision of the local plans, Mr. Loizou favours the taxation of the vacant plots as a measure to restrain prices.

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