08.05.2022
Giannis Misirlis spoke about new real estate trends at the Economist Business Summit in London.
The sudden emergence of the pandemic has brought about a radical change in the real estate industry in Cyprus, accelerating developments and trends in the sector.
Speaking about the economies of Cyprus and Greece at The Economist’s sixth London Business Summit, held last month on the London Stock Exchange, Imperio Director and Deputy President of the Cyprus Land and Building Developers Association, Yiannis Misirlis, stressed that the pandemic has been a catalyst for the real estate industry in Cyprus. This has greatly facilitated the adoption of significant international trends, which would take several years for the Cypriot real estate market to be introduced, as real estate is one of the less innovative business areas.
Analyzing new information in the sector, Misirlis mentioned new trends that Cypriot development companies should pay attention to in the coming years.
Environmental friendliness
A key factor in the future sustainability and profitability of real estate companies is the integration of environmental elements into their future projects, as the construction of “green” buildings has become more common in the past few years.
Buildings with a high carbon footprint currently have elevated operating and maintenance costs, as well as high insurance costs, and will also face funding challenges in the future as investors, tenants and banking institutions increasingly turn to sustainable building.
Office space
At the same time, the creation of office space is a field with many opportunities for activities in Cyprus. While working from home has reduced the demand for office space abroad, the picture is quite different in Cyprus.
“Precisely because the weather in Cyprus is very good and the cities are not densely populated, there is a lot of interest from companies that want to move their headquarters to Cyprus or open regional offices,” said the director of Imperio.
Student housing
It seems that the situation is similar in the field of student housing. According to Misirlis, this opens up great opportunities for developers, especially in Nicosia and Limassol, where large university institutions are located.
He predicts that with the end of the pandemic and the return of students to dormitories, there will be a shortage of student dormitories.
Consequences of the war
Referring to the war in Ukraine, Misirlis said that this will affect the real estate sector, both at the European level and in Cyprus.
“Cyprus real estate has managed to reduce its dependence on the Russian market due to the pandemic. What is particularly worrying is not the impact of the war on finding buyers, but the impact of the war on the global economy, such as inflationary pressures and rising interest rates and oil and commodity prices,” he said, adding that the real challenge is to keep construction costs at a controlled level.
In conclusion, Misirlis stressed that developers, investors and everyone involved in real estate should be flexible and adapt to the new situation.
“Those who ignore the dictates of the times will face greater risks and lower profits, and projects that do not keep up with modern trends will be considered obsolete and are unlikely to be chosen by buyers and tenants,” he concluded.
