Increasing the housing supply is the key to addressing the housing crisis, according to Yiannis Misirlis, President of the Real Estate Development Association. Speaking on the Alpha News program, he emphasized that the problem is not uniform across Cyprus, but particularly affects specific population groups and areas where purchase and rental prices have become prohibitive.
“We do not have a single housing problem that affects everyone. We have a very acute affordability problem for specific groups and specific areas. Therefore, it is not uniform across the country,” said Mr. Misirlis. As he explained, pressure on prices stems primarily from the imbalance between supply and demand, noting that “when we have 10 properties to sell or rent and demand is at 12, prices will rise.”
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According to him, the key issue is not just how many zoning or building permits are issued or how many transactions take place, but how many new homes ultimately reach the market. “The real number is the properties that are delivered. That’s what we need to monitor,” he emphasized, noting that without a substantial increase in the available housing stock, there can be no lasting easing of pressure on prices.
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Regarding the government’s plans, the President of the Real Estate Development Association noted that they are moving in the right direction, clarifying, however, that their results cannot be seen immediately and will take time. He placed particular emphasis on the permitting process, saying, “We need faster, more flexible permitting. It’s unacceptable that for a simple building permit, someone has to draw up plans and wait three or four years for it to be issued.” In fact, he cited a study by the Association indicating that significant delays in permitting can substantially increase the cost of a development project.
A second critical factor, according to Mr. Misirlis, is the construction sector’s workforce. “If we’re asking for thousands more homes on the market every year, the construction sector must be able to work and produce them,” he said, arguing that more and properly trained workers are needed. He also spoke positively about the philosophy behind initiatives that bring idle housing stock back onto the market, such as “I Renovate – Rent,” but insisted that a larger scale is needed if the goal is to effectively address the problem.
Mr. Misirlis emphasized, finally, that housing policy cannot be limited solely to measures that protect demand or to subsidies, but must also create the conditions for more and more affordable housing. “We must protect those who truly need protection, but at the same time create conditions for more housing, more quickly and at a lower cost,” he said, defining the true measure of success as whether more families will ultimately be able to secure adequate housing at a price they can afford.
