Jeroen Kremers, an executive director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), recently predicted that Cyprus would be using the European single currency by April 2008 and he stressed that it would be a crucial move for the health of the country's economy.

Peter Christofi, an overseas marketing manager for Antonis Loizou & Associates, agreed with this sentiment, telling newskys.co.uk that the property market would benefit enormously from the move.

"This is great news for Cyprus. Adoption of the Euro is the final fence in becoming part of a united Europe. Cyprus is now stronger than ever and with the proposed adoption date of January 1st 2008 this can only bode well for the property market as more and more investors look to purchase property in this tried and tested island in the Eastern Mediterranean," he said.

Mr Christofi went on to say that property prices within the country are currently rising at a staggering rate of up 20 per cent annually. As such, investors are finding they can make bigger gains on their property in Cyprus than in France or Spain, while growth rates in Bulgaria can still be unpredictable.

Cyprus has long been a favourite among UK tourists and investors and it also has an enviable reputation for attracting "repeat visitors". A growing number of UK residents are looking to the island for a holiday home, many more decide to retire there and thousands are taking advantage of good investment conditions.

According to Mr Christophi, this special affinity is down to the fact that the basic infrastructure in Cyprus is not dissimilar to that of the UK.

While investing in some countries can be daunting because of basic communication difficulties, English is spoken by a significant proportion of the population in Cyprus, while the land registry system differs only marginally from that within the UK. All of this is crucial in making the task of buying and selling a property or making a buy-to-let investment all the more comfortable.

Buy-to-let investment opportunities in Cyprus are in fact particularly strong, with newskys.co.uk referring to rental yields of around eight per cent. It is a figure that is clearly attracting UK investors in hordes as they look for returns competitive with if not better than those in Spain.

Mr Christophi has acknowledged that some people are understandably drawn to adventurous property investment in Eastern Europe, but he has insisted that Cyprus continues to offer a safe and lucrative option for the majority.