Inside the model
The appraisal runs on a small set of market benchmarks so you don't have to guess twenty numbers. This page documents every embedded value and the reasoning behind it. Machine-readable versions: llms.txt · API.
The site
Land deductions
10% road deduction on non-parcelled plots, plus the statutory stepped public-green deduction.
When a plot is not yet parcelled, 10% of gross area is deducted for public roads (plus the statutory stepped public-green deduction). This reflects the typical Cyprus planning outcome; parcelled plots carry no deductions.
From density to sellable area
The building coefficient sets the legal density area. Apartments lose 7% of that density to circulation before it becomes internal area; houses lose none. Covered verandas — which don't count against the coefficient — then add 25% on apartments and 20% on houses, giving the net sellable area (NSA) that determines the unit count and revenue. Construction is priced on gross floor area (GFA): NSA equals GFA for houses, while apartments build shared cores and corridors, so GFA = NSA ÷ 83%.
Parcellation works — €120/m²
A plot that isn't parcelled must build the public road and green space it cedes: the deducted area is constructed at ~€120/m² (roadworks, services, landscaping). For apartment schemes these works land at the end of the project — the final months of construction. Villa schemes build them FIRST: roads and services go in with the spec tranche during the opening months, before houses can be delivered.
Minimum plot per house — 330 m²
Each house needs land: net land divided by the number of houses must leave at least ~330 m² per house for the dwelling, setbacks, parking and a usable garden. Below that, the scheme isn't feasible for the designated house size — reduce the unit count, shrink the product, or switch typology.
The product
Unit sizes by typology & positioning
- City-centre apartments
80 ·
80 ·
95 ·
120 m²
Compact stock dominates central locations: units average 80 m² net sellable area. Off-plan apartment prices appreciate ~10% p.a. during construction as the building rises and stock sells down.
- Suburban apartments
112 ·
112 ·
125 ·
150 m²
Suburban blocks skew to family-sized two/three-bedroom layouts, averaging 112 m² net sellable area. Apartments appreciate ~10% p.a. during the construction period.
- Suburban housing
156 ·
190 ·
210 ·
300 m²
Detached and semi-detached houses average 190 m² covered area. Villa product appreciates more slowly off-plan — ~5% p.a. during construction — as buyers pay for the finished home, not the tower-crane discount curve. Per m², houses price ~20% below apartments in the same bracket (more area, lower rate). Villa sales pace is calibrated to Limassol Land-Registry volumes per positioning — see the villa card.
Sizes shown Budget · Mid · Upscale · Luxury (net sellable area). Average net sellable area per unit follows the product positioning: budget schemes cut smaller units to keep tickets affordable, luxury schemes trade unit count for floor area. The Custom positioning can override the size directly.
Villa sales & payments
- Velocity
1.2 ·
0.7 ·
0.35 ·
0.2 u/mo
Budget · Mid · Upscale · Luxury. Villa velocities are calibrated to Limassol Land-Registry contract volumes (2024–mid-2026): under €500k the district absorbs ~17 houses a month and strong schemes sustain ~1/mo; €500–850k absorbs ~4/mo; above €850k the entire district transacts only 1–2 houses a month, so even 0.2–0.35/mo means capturing a fifth of the market. Set at the top quartile of observed scheme performance.
- Payment plan
30 / 30 / 30 / 10
Villa buyers pay against their own house's progress: 30% on contract, 30% at structure, 30% at aluminium works, 10% on completion — the stages land ~8, ~13 and 18 months after each sale (spec-built homes catch up on stages already passed). Apartment buyers pay against the project programme: 30% on contract, 30% at ~37.5% and 30% at ~75% of the construction period (9 and 18 months on a 24-month build), 10% on completion, with catch-up for late buyers.
Price & cost benchmarks
- Budget
€3,200/m² sale ·
€1,500/m² build
Entry-level product: standard finishes and efficient layouts. Deepest buyer pool, so it sells fastest (~2 units/month) at the thinnest margin per m².
- Mid-market
€4,500/m² sale ·
€1,800/m² build
The market's centre of gravity: good finishes, standard amenities. Sells ~1 unit/month with a balanced price-to-cost spread.
- Upscale
€6,000/m² sale ·
€2,200/m² build
Premium locations and specification. A narrower buyer pool trades velocity (~0.5 units/month) for a wider spread between price and cost.
- Luxury
€8,500/m² sale ·
€2,800/m² build
Trophy product: top-tier design, materials and views. Few qualified buyers (~0.3 units/month) but the highest revenue per m² by far.
Benchmarks are apartment prices per m² of sellable area; housing sells at 80% of the bracket's rate (larger homes trade at a lower €/m²). Custom prices are used exactly as entered.
Price appreciation
Off-plan prices rise while the project is under construction — 10% p.a. for apartments, 5% p.a. for houses — then revert to a long-run 2% p.a. after completion. Revenue is realised at the appreciated price of each unit's sale month.
Timing & sales
Project timeline
Projects don't sell on day one. The land is acquired at model start (today); design and permitting then run 6 months for apartment schemes up to 12 units, and 12 months for larger schemes and all housing. Construction and off-plan sales start together when design concludes, and marketing begins within 3 months of project start to build the brand before launch.
Construction period
Apartments: 18–36 months, stepped by scheme size. Villas: sales-driven — sell-out plus one 18-month house-build.
The construction programme scales with project size. Apartments: 18 months up to 12 units, 24 months to 40, 30 months to 80, 36 months beyond. Housing builds sell-then-build: about 20% of homes start speculatively on day one, every further house starts when it sells, and the site closes out one house-build (18 months) after the last sale — the programme is driven purely by the sales pace, with construction spend following the sales curve. The Custom positioning can set the apartment programme directly (12-72 months; buyer payment stages stretch with it); villa programmes always follow the sales pace.
Sales velocity & the absorption curve
- Budget 2.0 u/mo apartments · 1.2 u/mo villas
- Mid-market 1.0 u/mo apartments · 0.7 u/mo villas
- Upscale 0.5 u/mo apartments · 0.35 u/mo villas
- Luxury 0.3 u/mo apartments · 0.2 u/mo villas
The sell-out period is not an input: it is derived from the project's unit count and the average sales velocity of its price category. Villas use their own Land-Registry-calibrated velocities per positioning (see the villa card). Benchmarks assume a ~30-unit scheme; larger projects sell faster (bigger marketing budgets, broader unit mix): velocity scales with the square root of units/30, capped at 2x, and never drops below the benchmark for small schemes. Slower categories automatically produce longer sell-outs, later cash and lower NPV.
Sales don't run at full speed from day one. The model uses an absorption curve: the launch starts at 40% of the category's velocity and ramps to full pace over the first 3 months (small schemes) or 6 months (larger ones) while marketing gains traction; the scheme then sells at full velocity until ~85% of stock is gone; the last 15% — the least attractive units — sell at half pace, often past completion at appreciated prices. Units are scheduled monthly, so a mid-year launch no longer compresses a year's quota into a few months.
How revenue is collected
Apartment buyers pay off-plan against the project programme: 30% on contract, 30% at ~37.5% of the build, 30% at ~75%, and 10% on completion (9 / 18 months on a 24-month build — the stages stretch with longer programmes). A unit sold after a milestone has passed pays the missed tranches immediately (catch-up), so later sales front-load more cash. Villa buyers pay against their own house's build — see "Villa sales & payments" above.
Costs & taxes
Soft costs
- Sales commission
5% of revenue
Standard Cyprus agency commission on off-plan sales.
- Sales management fee
1% of revenue
Sales-process management (CRM, reporting, agent coordination), paid in step with collections — on top of the agency commission.
- Marketing
1% of revenue
A full marketing budget: fixed launch assets (brand, website, CGI renders, film, brochure — ~12% of the budget) plus a flexible campaign pool (paid media, PR, events, portals) spread over the sales period.
- Design & engineering
5% of construction
Architect, engineering and site-supervision fees; ~83% pre-development, ~17% supervision during works.
- Contingency
5% of construction
Reserve for cost overruns and change orders.
- Project management
3% of construction
Construction management of the general contractor.
Permitting costs
Planning and building permit fees scale with the building: ~€7/m² GFA for the planning permit and ~€11/m² GFA for the building permit (calibrated to recent Allora projects). Small schemes file the planning permit ~3 months in and the building permit at month 6; larger schemes file at months 6 and 12 — so the building permit always lands as construction starts.
Administrative costs
Running a development SPV isn't free: incorporation and acquisition legals plus a bank-compliance commission on the land transfer at setup; then audit, accounting, corporate secretarial, tax compliance, registered office and bank fees every year (audit and accounting scale mildly with project size); and a final striking-off cost when the SPV closes. Typically ~€100k over a mid-size project's life.
Taxes — 15% CIT with NID
Profits are taxed at Cyprus corporate income tax of 15%. Before tax, a Notional Interest Deduction (NID) of 8% on the equity invested (the project's peak funding) is deducted in profitable years, capped at 80% of that year's taxable profit — a Cyprus incentive that rewards equity-funded development. Losses carry forward, so early-year losses shelter later profits; tax is paid in two provisional installments (31 July and 31 December).
Common questions
How much does construction cost per m² in Cyprus?
Benchmark hard costs run from €1,500/m² for budget product to €2,800/m² for luxury, charged on gross floor area. Soft costs add design (5%), contingency (5%) and project management (3%) on top.
What do new-build homes sell for per m² in Cyprus?
From €3,200/m² (budget) to €8,500/m² (luxury) of sellable area for apartments; houses price roughly 20% below the same bracket. Off-plan prices appreciate ~10%/yr (apartments) or ~5%/yr (houses) during construction.
How fast do new developments sell?
Apartment benchmarks run from 0.3 units/month (luxury) to 2.0 (budget). Villas use velocities calibrated to Limassol Land-Registry contract volumes: 1.2/mo budget, 0.7/mo mid, 0.35/mo upscale, 0.2/mo luxury. Larger schemes sell faster (velocity scales with the square root of units/30, capped at 2x). Sales follow an absorption curve: a ramp-up over the first 3-6 months, full pace to ~85% sold, then the last 15% at half speed.
How long does a residential development take?
Design and permitting run 6 months for small apartment schemes and 12 months for larger ones and housing. Apartment construction scales with size: 18 months up to 12 units, 24 to 40, 30 to 80, 36 beyond. Housing builds sell-then-build — about 20% of homes start speculatively, the rest as they sell, and the site closes out one house-build (18 months) after the last sale. Sales start with construction and the sell-out follows from unit count and velocity.
How are development profits taxed in Cyprus?
At 15% corporate income tax on cumulative profit with loss carryforward, reduced by a 8% notional interest deduction on invested equity (capped at 80% of a profitable year's result), paid in two provisional installments.
How much land does each house need?
At least 330 m² of net land per house for the dwelling, setbacks, parking and a garden — below that, a housing scheme isn't feasible for the designated house size.
What happens if a plot isn't parcelled?
10% of gross area is deducted for public roads plus the statutory stepped public green, and the ceded area must be built out at ~€120/m² — in the final months of construction for apartment schemes, or upfront with the spec tranche for villa schemes (roads before houses).