On a weekday morning in Limassol, the first TechIsland Town Hall opened with a simple question: How much longer can Cyprus grow if people can no longer afford to live here?

Around the table sat developers, school directors, economists, HR leaders, bankers, and executives from some of Cyprus’ largest employers. Their sectors were different, yet the story they shared was remarkably similar: the housing market has become increasingly strained for everyone in Cyprus, not only vulnerable groups, young families, and professionals, but the entire community, including the very talent the country hopes to attract and retain.

By the end of the discussion, the room reached a rare consensus. Prices are rising faster than wages; supply is misaligned with demand; much of the housing stock is aging; and planning systems designed decades ago are struggling to keep up. Out of this shared diagnosis emerged a conversation about potential solutions, including whether a more professional, large-scale Build-to-Rent (BtR) sector might become one of the tools Cyprus could adopt, if implemented systematically and in the public interest.

A market under pressure

Over the past few years, Cyprus has seen housing prices climb to their highest levels since before the 2012–2013 banking crisis. According to the Central Bank of Cyprus’ Residential Property Price Index, overall residential prices were still rising by around 6.5% year-on-year in late 2024, with apartments increasing by nearly 9% – faster than houses. Global Property Guide

On the rental side, pressure is even more visible. In Limassol, rents are now roughly twice as high as in cities like Nicosia, Larnaca and Paphos, and several studies forecast that this gap will persist unless new stock comes online. Estate of Cyprus+1

Yet, even as demand has remained strong, construction signals have been mixed. The number of building permits issued in 2024 fell by nearly 5% compared with the previous year, suggesting that new supply is not accelerating in a way that could ease pressure. Cyprus Property News

The legacy of Cyprus’ building history compounds the problem. More than three-quarters of the country’s building stock is estimated to be over 40 years old, much of it constructed long before today’s energy efficiency standards. ANISAD Media+1 That age is increasingly visible: older apartment blocks with thin insulation, inefficient heating and cooling, and limited maintenance, yet commanding prices that would once have implied much better quality.

It is within this context that the Town Hall took place.

“They can find an apartment, but not a life”

Leaders from major corporations painted a vivid picture of how these market pressures play out in real life. Newcomers often arrive enthusiastic about relocating to Cyprus, only to encounter a rental landscape where small, dated apartments consume a disproportionate share of their income and are rarely situated near schools, essential services, or reliable transport. The same goes for locals relocating from one city to the other for work or even young professionals looking to start their life outside their family homes. 

Christia Evagorou, Deputy Group CEO at payabl., captured the issue succinctly: “Employees are struggling to find homes they can afford without compromising quality of life… and this is now affecting retention and people’s long-term decisions.”

The challenges are not limited to affordability. Anna Lasina, Head of Relocation Experience at Wargaming, noted, “People can find something to rent, but it’s often old, not energy-efficient, and far from where they work or want their children to study.”

Several speakers described young professionals spending more than half of their salary on rent, while families settle for homes that don’t truly meet their needs because the alternative is to consider leaving Cyprus altogether. As Liudmila Marochkina, CEO at DC SPORT SOFT & i-Can School, warned: “If people can’t afford to live here in a dignified and sustainable way, they will eventually move on. That’s not just a personal decision, it becomes a competitiveness issue for Cyprus.”

The pressure is equally visible in the education sector. Representatives described rising numbers of international students and staff competing for the same limited stock as local families. Some institutions are expanding or planning new facilities, but housing availability has not kept pace. The result, as Marochkina, observed, is “a patchwork where young people juggle long commutes, high costs and shared accommodation that was never designed for this kind of pressure.”

A System Built for Old Cyprus

Developers and real-estate professionals acknowledged their role, but argued that the system they work within is poorly suited to today’s needs.

Several pointed to planning rules that still insist on larger minimum apartment sizes and layouts conceived for a different era, even as demand has shifted toward smaller, more flexible units for singles, couples and mobile workers.

“We have regulations that were written for a completely different demographic profile,” Michalis Hadjipanayotou, CEO at Cybarco Development said. “We’re trying to solve 2025 problems with early-2000s tools.” 

Permitting delays was another recurring theme. While there have been recent legislative efforts to speed up approvals, panelists noted that it can still take years for projects to move from plan to ground-breaking, especially in high-demand urban areas. Estate of Cyprus+1

These delays matter because housing is a pipeline business: when new projects are slow to start, the shortage is felt years later. When combined with rising construction costs and uncertainty about future regulations, this can push developers toward either postponing projects or focusing only on high-margin segments.

“Everyone says we need more affordable housing,” Michael P. Leptos, Executive Management, at Leptos Group remarked, “but if the numbers don’t work and the permitting is unpredictable, it’s very hard to build it at scale”. 

Old buildings, new expectations

Energy performance and building condition were another quiet but significant concern. Decades-old blocks with poor insulation are expensive to heat in winter and cool in summer, particularly under new European energy performance standards that push owners toward upgrades. ANISAD Media+1

Yet many landlords are reluctant or unable to invest in full renovations, especially when there is no shortage of demand even for sub-standard units. The result is a paradox: properties that would struggle to meet modern energy labels still attract high rents in neighbourhoods where demand exceeds supply.

For tenants, especially younger and mobile ones, this feels increasingly at odds with expectations formed in other European cities, where better-managed, purpose-built rental homes are slowly becoming the norm.

Quality of life as infrastructure

Beyond individual buildings, discussion repeatedly returned to the idea of “complete communities”. Schools, childcare, healthcare, public transport, green spaces and cultural life, these are no longer “nice to have” extras, but integral to whether a neighbourhood feels liveable.

Alexis Andreou, from the education sector noted that families don’t ask only about tuition fees, but about commute times, nearby parks, healthcare access, and whether their children will be able to stay in the same school if they move neighbourhoods to find cheaper rent. 

George Ioannou, CEO at Lanitis Entertainment, echoed the point from a different angle: “Visitors may come for the beaches, but the professionals who keep the industry running need long-term, affordable places to live all year round, in communities that work.”

The conversation gradually shifted from “housing units” to neighbourhoods, services and long-term planning, and to the question of how Cyprus can move from reactive, plot-by-plot development to a clearer, more coordinated vision.

A quiet turn toward Build-to-Rent

Against this backdrop, the idea of BtR surfaced not as a slogan, but as one possible tool among many.

Build-to-Rent, as practiced in places like the UK, the Netherlands and Germany, involves residential buildings or whole communities that are designed from the outset to be rented rather than sold, owned by a single long-term investor (often institutional) and managed professionally. 

These developments typically offer:

• consistent maintenance and on-site management,

• predictable lease terms,

• shared amenities and community spaces,

• unit mixes aligned with local demand – from studios to family homes.

In the UK, for example, BtR now accounts for roughly one in five new homes in some urban markets and has attracted tens of billions of euros in long-term capital across Europe. The Guardian+1

At the Town Hall, several participants suggested that if Cyprus wants to expand high-quality rental supply quickly, especially for workers and families – it will need to look seriously at this type of model.

Pavlos Loizou, CEO at Ask Wire, argued that BtR is not about replacing home ownership, but about “adding a missing layer” to the housing ecosystem:

“You give people the option of a professionally managed home, with predictable terms and decent quality, without asking them to take on a mortgage immediately.” 

Banks are also watching the trend closely.

Irene Yiannourou, Manager of Large Corporate Banking Centres at Bank of Cyprus, noted: “Cyprus’ banking system is resilient and ready to support large-scale housing initiatives. Institutional rental models can bring stability and we are prepared to back viable, well-structured projects.”

Her comment underscored a key point: BtR cannot grow without a banking framework built for long-term rental investment, something Cyprus has not yet fully developed.

Scale, not silver bullets

Still, no one suggested that BtR alone will fix Cyprus’ housing problems. The lessons from abroad are clear: when Build-to-Rent is small and isolated, its impact on the wider market is limited. 

For BtR to contribute meaningfully here, panelists stressed, it would need to be part of a broader, coordinated strategy, with:

• planning rules that allow appropriate density and unit mixes in the right locations;

• incentives, such as targeted VAT or tax stability, tied to affordability or long-term rental commitments;

• collaboration between government, banks, and developers to design financing structures for long-term rental rather than quick sales;

• transparency around tenant protections and contract standards.

“On its own, one or two projects won’t change the market,” Nicholas Ayiomamitis, CEO at Imperio cautioned. “But if we manage to align policy, finance, and planning around a clear strategy, then large-scale rental communities could become part of a more stable, predictable housing landscape” 

In other words, BtR is best seen not as an agenda to be pushed, but as one instrument within a larger housing policy orchestra.

The thread running through it all: supply

The clearest message of the day was also the simplest: Cyprus needs more housing — and the right kind of housing — delivered faster.

More supply will not automatically drop prices overnight, but it will:

• ease pressure,

• increase choice,

• stabilise rents,

• reduce the reliance on outdated stock,

• and make the country more attractive to both talent and families.

As Michalis Hadjipanayotou concluded: “We don’t lack ideas or goodwill in Cyprus; we lack coordination and courage at scale.”

The Town Hall did not solve the housing crisis. But it shifted the conversation from fragmented frustration to shared responsibility and it quietly highlighted that new models, including BtR, may play a role in unlocking Cyprus’ next chapter.

Whether policymakers, developers, and institutions will move together with the coordination and courage the panel called for is the real question that now remains.