The short answer
Most property advertised in Cyprus falls into four groups: city apartments, coastal holiday apartments, resale village houses and new-build family homes. Prices, running costs and resale liquidity differ sharply between them. Extraland builds only the fourth group — detached, energy-class-A family homes on generous plots in Sotira, nine minutes from central Limassol.
Key points
- Cyprus is a full EU member with a common-law legal system and English used throughout the buying process.
- The four practical property types — city apartment, coastal apartment, resale village house, new-build family home — behave very differently on cost, maintenance and resale.
- There is no annual property tax in Cyprus; ongoing cost is mostly municipal rates, communal fees and utilities.
- New-build carries VAT (19%, or a reduced 5% on a qualifying primary home up to 130 m²) but transfer fees are waived when VAT is paid.
The four things you will be shown
Search the Cyprus market from abroad and the results blur together. In practice, almost every listing belongs to one of four groups, and the group matters more than the photographs.
- City apartments (Limassol centre and seafront) — highest price per square metre, strong rental demand, no private outdoor space, communal fees for life.
- Coastal holiday apartments (Paphos, Protaras, Ayia Napa) — seasonal rental income, quieter in winter, resale competes with thousands of near-identical units.
- Resale village houses — the cheapest entry, but frequently pre-1990 construction: no insulation, older wiring and plumbing, and renovation costs that are hard to price before you own it.
- New-build family homes on their own plot — higher entry price than a village resale, lowest running cost, full warranties, and the only category where energy performance is guaranteed in writing.
How the districts differ for a family
Limassol is the country's commercial centre: work, international schools, the marina, the widest choice of services — and the highest prices and traffic. Nicosia is the administrative capital, inland, hotter in summer and with no coast. Paphos is calmer and cheaper, but further from business infrastructure. Larnaca has the main international airport and is improving quickly. Famagusta district covers the eastern resorts.
The pattern most working families settle on is a home just outside Limassol with quick highway access to it. That is precisely the case for Sotira in the Limassol district — part of Kourion Municipality since the 2024 local-government reform — one minute from the A6 highway and nine minutes from central Limassol.
What ownership actually costs each year
Cyprus abolished its annual immovable property tax in 2017. Recurring costs are therefore modest and predictable, which is one of the main reasons the island is attractive to relocating families.
| Cost | Who charges it | Typical basis |
|---|---|---|
| Annual property tax | — | None since 2017 |
| Municipal / community rates | Local authority | A modest annual charge based on property value |
| Refuse & sewerage | Local authority / sewerage board | Annual, billed separately |
| Communal fees | Development management | Only where shared grounds or services exist |
| Buildings insurance | Insurer | Annual, based on rebuild value |
| Utilities | EAC / water board | Usage; energy-class-A homes with heat pumps run materially lower |
Where Extraland fits
We are a Cypriot property studio, not an agency: we acquire the land, masterplan it, design it, build it, hand it over and service it afterwards. Every current development is in the Sotira area of the Limassol district, built to European specifications at energy class A, with heat pumps and solar-ready roofs as standard, and roughly 20% plot coverage so the rest stays garden.
Live prices, plot sizes and availability are published on our available homes page and update directly from our property system — this guide deliberately avoids quoting figures that move.
Frequently asked
Cyprus is an EU member state with a common-law legal system inherited from the UK. Contracts are in English, independent lawyers act only for the buyer, and depositing the contract of sale at the Land Registry protects your rights in the property before the title deed issues.
Resale is cheaper to enter and carries no VAT, but older Cypriot houses were built without insulation and typically need work. New-build carries VAT yet comes with warranties, current energy standards and no immediate renovation budget. For a permanent family home, new-build usually wins on total cost over ten years.
Reservation to signed contract is usually two to six weeks, depending on your lawyer's due diligence. Completion of a home under construction follows the build programme — typically eighteen to thirty months from contract, confirmed per home.
Next steps
Last reviewed 20 August 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice — always instruct an independent Cyprus-registered lawyer.