Limassol replete with ageing properties — suburbs offer renewal

Cypriot firm Ask Wire on Friday released a report examining the age of buildings in the city and suburbs of Limassol, helping to outline the trajectory of residential development over time, as well as the areas that are experiencing the most growth.

According to the firm, which specialises in the blending of real estate knowledge with the use of advanced technology and analytics, there are 52,259 buildings in the city and suburbs of Limassol, out of which approximately 806 are new properties, with a maximum age of up to 10 years old.

Moreover, this latest piece of residential property analysis revealed that there are 1,503 properties in the 10-20 years range, while the buildings aged between 20 and 30 years amounted to 11,264 properties.

Furthermore, construction has begun on 163 apartment buildings between January 2022 and March 2023.

Among these, 65 properties, a share of 40 per cent, are situated in the Municipality of Limassol, 29 buildings, a share of 18 per cent, are in the Municipality of Germasogeia, and 21 properties, a share of 13 per cent, can be found in Agios Athanasios.

Ask Wire’s findings indicate an increase in residential development in the western regions of Limassol, particularly in the Erimi and Zakaki areas near the new casino resort.

In terms of Limassol’s eastern areas, noticeable residential development is observed in the Agia Fyla and the Papa tourist area.

In closer proximity to the city centre and the surrounding municipalities and communities, there is naturally a higher concentration of older buildings.

Specifically, there are 18,571 buildings aged between 30 and 50 years, while a whopping 20,115 buildings are more than 50 years old.

Taking into account the significant population growth in the city in 2022, where a substantial portion of the estimated 40,000 individuals who settled in Cyprus in recent years chose to reside, along with the number of properties available, it is understandable why prices for both buying and renting have continued to rise.

Notably, Ask Wire’s data for the first quarter of 2023 showed that rental prices for apartments and houses in Limassol increased by 1.78 per cent and 4.17 per cent respectively on an annual basis.

What is more, prices for buying apartments and houses also experienced an increase of 3.29 per cent and 2 per cent respectively.

Commenting on the above data, Ask Wire CEO Pavlos Loizou stated that “the picture of residential development is as expected in a city where the oldest buildings are concentrated in the city centre, and as you move outward, the age of the properties decreases”.

However, Loizou noted that there are also the traditional cores in the villages surrounding the city of Limassol, such as Agios Athanasios and Polemidia, among others, which are now part of the wider city of Limassol while retaining some of their own characteristics.

“The analysis by Ask Wire presents the areas with the highest potential and shows in real-time and detail how the city and its dynamics are changing, such as the growing or expanding areas and population density,” Loizou said.

“These findings are particularly significant for entrepreneurs operating in sectors such as commerce and hospitality, as well as for real estate investors, construction companies, and building materials sales companies,” he concluded.