Property prices continue to be slack, economic sentiment down

Property prices in Cyprus continued to fall in the first quarter of 2015 although the rate of decline showed signs of slowing down, according to a survey published on Thursday.

The survey by the Cypriot branch of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors said prices went down by 8.1 percent on a year on year basis, similar to the last quarter of last year.

It said a drop in property prices was recorded in all cities, with most notable those in the capital Nicosia which had previously shown more resilience.

But the survey said that there are signs of returning stability in the seaside tourist city of Paphos and the seaside city of Larnaca.

Properties in Cyprus are in slump since a property bubble burst in 2009 following a boom that started with the island's accession to the European Union in 2004.

An economic crisis that peaked with a 10-billion-euro bailout of Cyprus in 2013 along with a radical restructuring of the banks, which involved the impairment of large deposits over 100,000 euros, left banks with a mountain of non-performing loans and tens of thousands of undervalued properties.

In a further indication of economic slack, a monthly survey showed a decline in the economic sentiment among businessmen.

The Economic Sentiment Index declined by 3.5 points to 104.2 in May, relative to April, mostly on account of negative expectations by retailers.

They said they expected lesser intakes on account of diminishing sales over the next three months to a year, though consumers predicted they will be in a better position.

The survey is prepared by the Research Department of the University of Cyprus and is finance by the European Union. Endit