Property developers and investors consider North Cyprus to be the most attractive property market in Europe right now, with property prices starting low and already rising in line with the reunification talks that are going on between Demetris Christofias and the Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat. Prices in the Turkish controlled North of the island are low because of the conditions that the North has been in for the last thirty years, specifically in regard to international trade embargos and the refusal of international airlines to fly directly into the North. However with both leaders now aiming to heal the division that has separated the island’s two communities, property prices in the north – which are, at the moment, currently between a third and a half of those in the Republic of Cyprus – are all beginning to rise, and the extent of developer and investment interest in both North Cyprus properties and land highlights the jump in property values that will almost immediately follow a successful reunification blueprint being tabled.The current round of negotiations have met with huge approval from the international community – a community who remained largely indifferent, if not disillusioned, during the stalled attempts at delegation that defined the leadership of Christofias’s predecessor – the conservative, anti-reunification Tassos Papadopoulos. Of course, the international community’s support for the reunification talks- talks that are now taking place on a weekly basis until a solution is reached – is a fantastic indicator that the talks really are moving ahead, and that the early bird investors – the people who buy property in North Cyprus now – are likely to reap the benefits of an investment opportunity that simply could not have been made anywhere else in Europe. The European Voice, a highly regarded newspaper owned by the Economist group, has galvanised the spirit of support that the two leaders now evoke around the world, by short-listing them for their ‘Europeans of the Year Award’ in recognition of the effort that both men have made in moving toward a reunified Cyprus. The other nominees for the award include Nicholas Sarkozy, in recognition of his efforts to broker a peace between Russia and Georgia, Boris Tadic, the Serbian president, in recognition of bringing Radovan Karadzic to trial and Donald Tusk, Poland’s prime minister for restoring his country’s position in the EU. The shift in diplomatic attitudes reflects a genuine opinion change in both of Cyprus’ communities – Turkish Cypriot voters chose to oust the long standing Rauf Denktash in favour the left wing Republic Society Party who ran with their pro-reunification solution mandate, as did Greek Cypriot voters choose to bring in the left-wing, pro-reunification Demetris Christofias this February. The feelings have not abated ; according to one poll, quoted in the International Crises Group’s report ‘Reunifying Cyprus, The Best Chance Yet’, three quarters of Greek Cypriots still backed their leader’s pro-reunification stance three months into his presidency. Considering it was this community who, four years ago, rejected the Annan plan, there has indeed been a shift in opinion.
