Cyprus Property Forum for Buyers, Sellers & Investors

Hello all,
I read in an article recently, that the government is considering of lowering transfer fees. Is this true?
I am about to have the house title transfer to my name (and my wife's), but i would rather wait and see whether transfer fees are lowered in order to benefit from any such development.

Hi kakou and welcome to the forum.

Yes, the government is considering reducing the Property Transfer Fees, but no decision has been taken as far as I am aware.

It is generally accepted that the recent statement by Socrates Hasikos concerning a possible 50% reduction in Property Transfer Fees may be delaying purchasers from paying until the government reaches a decision.

Unfortunately people make statements without thinking through the consequences of what they are saying and its impact.

Regards,

I hope that they take the right decision, fast. Not because i will have to transfer my house title on my name, but it will be a good motivation for new purchasers to go ahead. Currently, owning a house in Cyprus is just very expensive (VAT on purchase, transfer fees, mess with IPT until you have the title transfer on your name, mess with IPT after the title is transferred on your name (i believe IPT should have been crystal clear from the 1 January so people can make their budget, and not increase or decrease the rate according to government's financial needs), loans from banks that follow bad practises, city fees etc, mortgage fees).

The government reduced Property Transfer Fees to help stimulate the property market in 2011 - and the reduction was extended to the end of 2013 - see http://www.news.cyprus-property-buyers. ... id=0013040

But this came with a condition that it only applied to the first sale of a property and had little/no effect on sales.

Regards,