Cyprus 'safe from credit crunch'

The property market in Cyprus will not be brought down by the credit crunch, an expert has stated.

Manager of property developer Cybarco Jonathon Salsbury said the market is less vulnerable than it would have been in the past because the dependence on British buyers is now much less as investors are increasingly arriving from countries such as Russia, Kazakhstan and the Middle East.

He added: "In addition, the Cypriots themselves buy second homes in a reasonable number, so you've got a market that's not entirely dependent on international buyers and certainly not dependent on the British market."

These markets have developed since last autumn, prior to which Britons dominated, Mr Salsbury noted.

According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the Cypriot economy has coped well with the crunch and should benefit from the recent European Central Bank rate cut.

The International Monetary Fund has predicted that the island will enjoy growth of 3.4 per cent this year and 2.9 per cent next year.