Anybody contemplating purchasing a second, or replacement home abroad at the moment should be watching the current political manoeuvrings and goings on in Cyprus. Cyprus has been divided into a Turkish Cypriot North, which accounts for one third of the island, and a Greek Cypriot south since 1974, when the installed Greek nationalist leader Nikos Sampson became de facto president of the island. Sampson, who sought to unite the island with Greece, lasted in his post only eight days, and his installation as president, on the 15th of July 1974, was shortly followed by the Turkish invasion of Northern Cyprus on the 20th of July.

The island has remained divided since, with separate political leaders, separate airports and even separate football federations. During this division property prices on the Greek Cypriot side of the island have been relatively healthy