23.02.2022
As it became known, in May next year, a new general assessment of real estate in Cyprus is expected to be published in prices as of January 1, 2021. The total valuation of about two million properties is carried out mainly for tax purposes through mass valuations every three years based on the relevant legislation. Although this is a very useful process, which, in addition to the tax nuance, also contributes to a more general picture of the image that has developed in the real estate market.
However, we suggest that this assessment be done every five years rather than every three. This is an expensive process, and since real estate prices don’t change much in three years, there’s no reason to do it on such a short notice.
With regard to the content of the overall assessment, we invite people and every property owner to review the new assessments when they are published, based on the characteristics of their property. If they have any objection regarding the characteristics of the property used, then the objection can be filed free of charge within six months of publication. If the objection relates to the assessment itself, then the corresponding fee will be charged. In particular, for valuations from 1 to 100,000 euros the fee is 37.50 euros, for valuations from 100,000 to 500,000 euros, the fee is 75 euros, for valuations from 500,000 to 1,000,000 euros, the fee is 150 euros, for valuations above € 1,000,000, the fee is 375 euros. In general, we welcome the practice of general estimates applied by the Director of the Department of Lands and Surveys, as in addition to their financial year, they are very useful data that, if used correctly and evaluated from the right point of view, can help develop the estate. We remind you that the first real estate appraisal in Cyprus was made in 1920, the next one in 1980, and the last one in 2013, 2018 and the upcoming one in 2021.
Transparency in the market is increasing
Another important development has recently taken place in the Cadastral Department, which, in our opinion, significantly increases the transparency and quality of services that real estate agents can provide to their clients. In particular, the Department for the first time provided access to data on comparative real estate sales to licensees of the Real Estate Registration Board, real estate agents. Until recently, only real estate appraisers had access to this information. This is a development that increases market transparency, allowing Real Estate Agents to know the real facts about the transactions being made and, therefore, be able to inform their interested clients – property buyers about market trends, the progress of the properties they are interested in, as well as data on the geographical area that they are interested in. interested. We are confident that this development will greatly help the industry of licensed and legal real estate agents, but especially the buyers themselves, at a time when interest in this sector is growing. This is a significant implementation of the open data institution by the Land Registry and the government.
