The stunning island of Cyprus lies in the beautiful warm, calm and clear waters of the Mediterranean Sea and enjoys up to 320 days of unadulterated sunshine every year.

This makes Cyprus inimitably popular with holiday makers and second home hunters which in turn makes it the perfect real estate investment location for international property investors.

In fact, for anyone contemplating diversifying their investment portfolio and branching out into real estate in the near future, Cyprus has to be one of the hottest destinations in terms of the potential for profit it offers the investor.

With strong annual incomes achievable from letting property to the holiday market year round and capital gains consistently reaching double digits in Cyprus in the property market where else should an investor be looking right now?!

Add to all these positive points the fact that anyone who purchases a home in Cyprus for investment purposes could also personally holiday in the home and soak up some European sophistication, some Mediterranean cuisine and some Cyprus sunshine and you have the perfect package of reasons to invest in Cyprus immediately!

Since the Republic of Cyprus joined the European Union back in 2004 the rules relating to the foreign freehold ownership of real estate on the island have come under scrutiny. Currently it is only permissible for foreign buyers to own one property but as soon as this law changes it is predicted that there will be a buying frenzy on the island and that this increase in demand will inflate property prices sharply. Those who get in first and stake their claim now will be able to benefit from these predicted property price increases in the future.

Law in Cyprus is based on English common law, and as a result not only is the entire property buying process simple and straightforward but all owners of real estate in Cyprus regardless of their country of citizenship have the same property ownership rights as local Cypriots. This means that owning property in Cyprus is safe and the entire property title deed registration process is secure.

Building standards in Cyprus meet European standards and the abundance of available resale and off-plan property in Cyprus is good which means an investor not only has choice but he has choice of quality properties for sale.

Investors interested in real estate in Cyprus should note that the most popular properties that holiday makers are seeking to rent out are apartments near to golf courses and villas with private pools; and second home hunters are generally in search of either apartments or houses close to the seaside and the main tourist towns of Cyprus such as Paphos and Larnaca.