On March 18th will be the official opening ceremony which will initiate the works of the commercial Project The Oval on the Limassol beachfront.

The ceremony will be held in presence of the President of the Republic. According to plans, the building will reach a height of 16 floors and will have two basements

The project was designed by the renowned architectural firm Atkins and a new investor will participate from from abroad.

Plans to construct a ‘Euro Disney of the Mediterranean’ theme park near Oroklini, which stalled in 2012, were given the go-ahead by the government in a policy statement issued yesterday.

GOLD News reports that the Cyprus government has granted permission for the construction of a Disneyland-style theme park near the village of Oroklini in Larnaca district. According to the report, the permission was contained in a policy document published yesterday, and includes the construction of touristic village and a five star hotel set in 500,000m2 of land. The project first hit the news in 2009 when the Greek-language newspaper Politis revealed plans to build a Disneyland-style tourist theme park near Pyla on 80 hectares of land (800,000m2). The venue subsequently shifted to Oroklini, but two years ago plans stalled as discussions continued between the Government, Russian investors and land owners in the area to see how the land would be used. It looks as if the five-year wait may be over and although smaller than originally planned, the theme park should generate much-needed revenue from tourism when completed.

Courtesy of Cyprus Property News

We’ve seen our fair share of unique modern home designs like the box-shaped metallic house or the abstract fortress made of concrete, but Mexican architect Juan Carlos Ramos has taken on a form less-visited for his aptly titled project Pyramid House—a conceptual pyramid-shaped home created and submitted as a proposal for a recent architecture competition. The simple geometric shape creates a clean aesthetic, while remaining extremely eye-catching due to its iconic though rarely applied form.

Some highlights of this design are the multiple windows cut out of the four large triangular facades that allow natural light into the home. An enormous window covers one entire side of the structure that visually exposes and lightens the design. Viewers also get to see inside the modern multi-level interior which features a library, balcony, two bedrooms, and even a recording studio that have all been cleverly sectioned to fit inside this unconventional concept.

MPs have accused the Banks and the Land Registry of rigging property valuations for their own benefit, while expert appraisers have pointed out that property valuers and the banks use different methodologies.

However, the conception of Gallop’s brainchild did not begin there. Rewind a couple years earlier to Gallop sitting at the Glamour Bar in Shanghai, sipping her second martini. It was there, while visiting one of her favorite places in the world, enjoying her favorite drink, that she thought to herself, “I wish I lived somewhere like this.”

Soon after purchasing her new space, the public speaker and advertising consultant began the 2-and-a-half year process of painting her canvas.

“I had to build something from scratch, so I could do anything I wanted with it,” she said. “It is the first time I built something about me.”

Teaming up with designer Stefan Boublil of The Apartment Creativity Agency, Gallop made her dream living space a reality. Now she has a new teammate, Shlomi Reuveni of Brown Harris Stevens, who holds the listing.

Once lacking pigment, walls were painted black and embellished with an array of luxurious collectibles and artwork from Gallop’s travels. She says “many art galleries should paint their walls black because the art pops against it.”

Guests frequently comment that the apartment is comfortable and homey — the kind of place one you could spend hours enjoying.

Nelly was in my bathtub with two models,” Gallop mentioned. The rapper/singer apparently asked one of her designers, “Do you think your friend would sell the apartment?”

The unusual nature of the apartment raises the question: Will it be difficult to find a buyer? It’s been on the market since September 2013 and it’s on the pricey side, even for Chelsea, NY. Homes on the market here currently have a median list price of $1.855 million.

For Gallop, this is a non-issue. “I am very relaxed about the fact that it may take some time to sell it. I believe that there are more people like me who want to live somewhere unique.” She added, “We have had several people interested.”

After a decade of memories made in the unusual home, Gallop is ready to begin her next adventure. After selling the home, her plans are to rent for a while before deciding what her next purchase will be. “I’m confident of my ability to reinvent an equally enjoyable environment somewhere else,” she said.

While only one buyer can be the next owner of “The Black Apartment,” anyone can apply Gallop’s free-thinking attitude to their living space.

“I really would like to urge more people to think more individually of their homes, be very comfortable with yourselves, not give a damn about what other people think, do what makes you happy, and bring that into your home,” she said.

MPs have accused the Banks and the Land Registry of rigging property valuations for their own benefit, while expert appraisers have pointed out that property valuers and the banks use different methodologies.

PROPERTY evaluations in relation to bank loans and the new property tax have caused a whirlwind of reaction from MPs who yesterday claimed that banks and the Land Registry both manipulate the value of real estate to serve their own interests.

According to MPs, banks underestimate the value of real estate used as loan collateral in order to pressure owners into mortgaging additional property, while the Land Registry overestimates the value so as to collect increased transfer fees. Expert appraisers have pointed out that the situation may cause a vicious circle as banks and private evaluators use different approaches to estimate the same property, while the matter will result in benefiting lawyers and appraisers and not the state.According to the appraisers, owners are expected to react to the new property tax in order to reduce the fee, as practice states that re-assessed values must be publicised and owners have the right to object within two months.

In case the objection is rejected, affected parties can resort to justice, but it is unknown whether the entire process can be completed in time for the Land Registry to re-evaluate all properties based on 2013 values by June 30, in accordance with the terms of the bailout agreement.

Appraisers have further stressed that during times of financial stability, some of their colleagues would not assess property based only on its value but also according to the amount of an applicant’s loan, resulting in fictitious values. They also noted that in the past there had been significant discrepancies between Land Registry and private appraisals of the same property.

ACCORDING to the latest data from the Central Bank of Cyprus, non-performing loans at the end of January rose to €26.5 billion.

The Central Bank reports that non-performing loans with the commercial banks have reached 40.85% and the co-ops 47.47% of their total loan portfolios, while four of ten loans granted for home purchases are not being serviced. At the end of January 2013, €14.7 billion of the €31.55 billion loans granted to companies were non-performing. Property developers have amassed billions of debts that they are unable to pay. In construction 66.15% (€4.7 billion) of all loans granted are not being serviced, while elsewhere in the real estate sector 47.16% of loans are non-performing. Meanwhile the Bank of Cyprus is reviewing its restructuring plans in a move that could result in billions of euros of its troubled assets being put into a “bad bank” and the Cyprus Government is grappling with legislation to prevent the seizure of “primary residences”.

By: Nigel Howarth

OUTGOING Central Bank governor Panicos Demetriades said on Wednesday that banks must be allowed to seize assets, and borrowers who intentionally fail to repay loans must be penalised.

Wading into the increasingly polarised fray over non-performing loans (NPLs), the governor supported an IMF report on Tuesday which argued in favour of facilitating asset seizures by banks as an effective remedy. The report diagnosed the issue of NPLs as a “key challenge” to the economy, reporting that they have reached 50 per cent of total loans – at €22 billion, or 135 per cent of GDP.

In an interview with Bloomberg published on Wednesday, Demetriades, who will be replaced at the helm by Auditor General Chrystalla Georghadji on April 10, said addressing NPLs must be the top priority.

“There’s a lot of strategic default happening,” Demetriades said from Athens. “Borrowers need to know that there’s a consequence when you don’t pay. It’s still the case that the banks are not able to basically carry out any repossessions in any meaningful timeframe.”

While political parties said yesterday they agreed on the need to tackle NPLs they resisted Demetriades’ view that facilitating foreclosures was the way forward.

DIKO head and chairman of the House Finance committee Nikolas Papadopoulos argued in favour of extending the non-repayment period that qualifies a loan as non-performing, and proposed that the Central Bank initiate a renegotiation of the definition of NPLs with the troika of international lenders due to the specificities of the economic situation in Cyprus.“What is considered an NPL in the rest of Europe cannot be considered an NPL in Cyprus, and that is precisely the point we need to drive home – that right now the extraordinary economic circumstances prevalent in Cyprus do not allow for the usual definition,” he said.

“We need to change the definition.”

Opposition parties AKEL and EDEK positioned themselves along the same lines, but ruling DISY’s MP Kostas Mavrides said that borrowers have been offered sufficient time to restructure their loans.

He also said that banks could be in a position to raise additional capital, adding that this could be achieved by the creation of a bad bank that would handle all troubled loans and attract investors, a scenario that would also help boost liquidity.

Mavrides said that while the definition of non-performing loans cannot be amended, certain assumptions could be changed so that the number of NPLs can be reduced.

“The economic assumptions made when identifying the bank recapitalisation needs – the property market crash, the increase in unemployment, etc – had set the bar extremely high, which meant that increased NPLs were projected and ultimately recapitalisation needs for the banks were higher,” he said.

Mavrides added that “the definition of NPLs is the same across Europe and can’t be changed.”

“But perhaps some of the hypotheses made could be amended,” he concluded.

The parliament is preparing to pass legislation that would allow temporarily insolvent borrowers to request a court-ordered suspension of loan repayments if their primary residence or small-to-medium business premises came under threat of seizure, but only after all other loan restructuring options have been exhausted.

The bill, to be put to a plenum vote on April 10, has been publicly opposed by Finance Minister Harris Georgiades due to the risk of mass appeals to courts by distressed borrowers, with crippling effects to both the banking and judicial systems.

In public statements, Georgiades has conceded that appropriate protection of the primary residence must be provided for, but has also warned of the risk of compartmentalising the issue of NPLs.

In a letter dated March 4, the finance minister informed the House legal committee that a comprehensive government bill is being prepared as part of the reforms mandated in the MoU, which will address all the concerns relating to foreclosures and offer appropriate protection. The bill, Georgiades said, will be finalised and put to a vote later in the year.

By Angelos Anastasiou

OUTGOING Central Bank governor Panicos Demetriades said on Wednesday that banks must be allowed to seize assets, and borrowers who intentionally fail to repay loans must be penalised.

Wading into the increasingly polarised fray over non-performing loans (NPLs), the governor supported an IMF report on Tuesday which argued in favour of facilitating asset seizures by banks as an effective remedy. The report diagnosed the issue of NPLs as a “key challenge” to the economy, reporting that they have reached 50 per cent of total loans – at €22 billion, or 135 per cent of GDP.

In an interview with Bloomberg published on Wednesday, Demetriades, who will be replaced at the helm by Auditor General Chrystalla Georghadji on April 10, said addressing NPLs must be the top priority.

“There’s a lot of strategic default happening,” Demetriades said from Athens. “Borrowers need to know that there’s a consequence when you don’t pay. It’s still the case that the banks are not able to basically carry out any repossessions in any meaningful timeframe.”

While political parties said yesterday they agreed on the need to tackle NPLs they resisted Demetriades’ view that facilitating foreclosures was the way forward.

DIKO head and chairman of the House Finance committee Nikolas Papadopoulos argued in favour of extending the non-repayment period that qualifies a loan as non-performing, and proposed that the Central Bank initiate a renegotiation of the definition of NPLs with the troika of international lenders due to the specificities of the economic situation in Cyprus.“What is considered an NPL in the rest of Europe cannot be considered an NPL in Cyprus, and that is precisely the point we need to drive home – that right now the extraordinary economic circumstances prevalent in Cyprus do not allow for the usual definition,” he said.

“We need to change the definition.”

Opposition parties AKEL and EDEK positioned themselves along the same lines, but ruling DISY’s MP Kostas Mavrides said that borrowers have been offered sufficient time to restructure their loans.

He also said that banks could be in a position to raise additional capital, adding that this could be achieved by the creation of a bad bank that would handle all troubled loans and attract investors, a scenario that would also help boost liquidity.

Mavrides said that while the definition of non-performing loans cannot be amended, certain assumptions could be changed so that the number of NPLs can be reduced.

“The economic assumptions made when identifying the bank recapitalisation needs – the property market crash, the increase in unemployment, etc – had set the bar extremely high, which meant that increased NPLs were projected and ultimately recapitalisation needs for the banks were higher,” he said.

Mavrides added that “the definition of NPLs is the same across Europe and can’t be changed.”

“But perhaps some of the hypotheses made could be amended,” he concluded.

The parliament is preparing to pass legislation that would allow temporarily insolvent borrowers to request a court-ordered suspension of loan repayments if their primary residence or small-to-medium business premises came under threat of seizure, but only after all other loan restructuring options have been exhausted.

The bill, to be put to a plenum vote on April 10, has been publicly opposed by Finance Minister Harris Georgiades due to the risk of mass appeals to courts by distressed borrowers, with crippling effects to both the banking and judicial systems.

In public statements, Georgiades has conceded that appropriate protection of the primary residence must be provided for, but has also warned of the risk of compartmentalising the issue of NPLs.

In a letter dated March 4, the finance minister informed the House legal committee that a comprehensive government bill is being prepared as part of the reforms mandated in the MoU, which will address all the concerns relating to foreclosures and offer appropriate protection. The bill, Georgiades said, will be finalised and put to a vote later in the year.

By Angelos Anastasiou

Although a figure of 130,000 has often been quoted for the number of properties waiting to be issued with Title Deeds, this was based on statistics published by the Department of Lands and Surveys in 2008.

In summary: Between January 2005 and June 2008 a total of 37,769 overseas buyers purchased 29,949 properties whose Title Deeds had yet to be transferred. This figure of 29,949 included properties for which Title Deeds had yet to be issued plus those whose Title Deeds were in the process of being issued. During the same three and a half year period, 4,440 properties were transferred to 5,988 overseas buyers. (However, the figures did not reveal how many properties had been issued with Title Deeds that had not been transferred).

The article accompanying the figures reported that sales to overseas buyers accounted for 3 out of 10 sales of property. Theoretical Title Deeds backlog Based on the figures published in 2008 – and assuming that the 7 out of 10 property sold to the domestic market were also waiting for Title Deeds to be issued – we can assume that a total 17,760 properties were transferred over the three and a half year period to both domestic and overseas purchasers; an average of 423/month. According to the figures published by the Department of Lands and Surveys, we know that a total of 183,556 properties have been sold since 2000.

If we assume that over the same period of time that the Land Registry has maintained an average transfer rate of 423 properties/month, the number of transfers since 2000 is 423 * 169 = 71,487. Based on the various assumptions above, the number of properties whose Title Deeds have yet to be transferred is 112,069 (183,556 – 71,487). But this figure does not include sales that took place before 2000 and, therefore, the actual number will be somewhat higher; a figure of between 120,000 and 130,000 is not unreasonable.

However, the Department of Lands and Surveys has published no statistics that provide the actual numbers of properties waiting for Title Deeds. The Troika It seems that the Troika may have identified the problem and this resulted in them back-tracking on the requirement for Cyprus to reduce the Title Deed backlog to less than 2,000 cases of immovable property units with title deed issuance pending for more than one year by Q4-2014. Buried in section 1.29 of the latest Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which was issued on 12 April 2013, is the requirement that: The authorities will establish a Task Force (comprising representatives of Central Bank of Cyprus, Ministry of Finance, the Law Office of the Republic and the Land Register) by end-March to prepare a study assessing the magnitude of registered, but untitled land sales contracts and underlying mortgages and develop recommendations by end-June.

Clearly, much work has yet to be done to assess how many properties are waiting for Title Deeds and the underlying mortgages preventing their transfer; hopefully things will become clearer later this year. But land sales contracts? Does this include all immovable property sales – i.e. land, commercial property and residential property or just sales of land? And what about the many other impediments that prevent the transfer of a property to its purchaser such as court judgements in favour of the vendor’s creditors, claims for unpaid Immovable Property and Capital Gains Taxes, costs for the construction of a street, etc?

What a mess!

By: Nigel Howarth

Sparks are expected to fly in the House on Monday when MPs will discuss a draft bill designed to protect primary residences from foreclosure, which MPs want to send to the plenum on Thursday.

Sparks are expected to fly in the House on Monday when MPs will discuss a draft bill designed to protect primary residences from foreclosure, which MPs want to send to the plenum on Thursday.

BATTLE lines were being drawn yesterday for Monday’s discussion at the House on the draft bill to protect primary residences from foreclosure, which MPs want to send to the plenum on Thursday. Accusations flew between the government and opposition parties, and between those parties in favour of the draft bill and those against it.

Those opposing it, including ruling DISY, spoke of another economic disaster and possible new haircuts oninnocent depositors if banks were not allowed to recoup non-performing loans (NPLs) by seizing assets.

Detractors responded by accusing the government, of not for the first time, scaremongering with threats that the economy would come crashing down if the House didn’t cease and desist. Government spokesman Christos Stylianides said the state was not immune to the problems of homeowners and was working on a solution to protect vulnerable quarters while still safeguarding the wider economy. “The worst thing that could happen would be to slide into a bargain mentality, which would smell of populism,” he said. “Fragmentary approaches to the bill’s philosophy are undermining its wider importance the effect it will have on our country’s financial environment.”

Interior Minister Socrates Hasikos called on deputies to wait until the government’s proposal was completed otherwise what was on the table right now would prove to be a “landmine for the banking system”. “I trust that cooler heads will prevail in the House in the end so we won’t have a repetition of frivolous, harmful and destructive decisions of the recent past,” he said. But the deputies were not to be silenced.

Main opposition party AKEL leader Andros Kyprianou said they had asked the government repeatedly to protect primary residences by law but their pleas fell on deaf ears. “The government acts once again in an indifferent, arrogant and irresponsible way. Our intention isn’t to cause trouble but to resolve this issue in a way to protect poor people. To make sure they have a roof over their heads,” he said. “They are trying to blackmail MPs by saying that we either vote for the government’s plans or we are heading for bankruptcy”.

Kyprianou accused the government of deliberately waiting until the last minute to introduce a bill so the House can’t react to it. They would be given only until Thursday to present it, he said. DIKO leader Nicolas Papadopoulos said that his party was all for protecting primary residences “but not palaces”. The party would consider proposals by all sides and then decide. DIKO agreed with protecting people who were genuinely suffering but not ready to allow abuse by people who just wanted to get out of paying their debts.

EDEK MP Nicos Nicolaides said that his party’s stance was that the bill should be voted by the plenum, criticising the government for attacking it. “They have demonised a bill that aims to protect poor home owners, saying in short that it will destroy the economy,” Nicolaides said, adding that the government was lying when they say that they would protect primary residences. “How will they accomplish that, since they have already promised the troika that they won’t oppose repossessing houses?” he said. Greens MP George Perdikis suggested the government do more to chase down big debtors. He said the government’s reaction was exaggerated.

But ruling DISY – which will vote against the bill irrespective – said it was not. Party leader Averof Neophytou said he believed the other parties would come to their senses. “Hasty actions could have completely the opposite result,” he said. Neophytou said all MPs should bear in mind that if they vote in favour of some people not paying their loans, this move would burden others. “I don’t think it’s the intention of any MP, regardless of political affiliation, to trigger an additional deposit haircut,” he said.

By: Constantinos Psillides Published: Sunday 6th April 2014