Author Archives: George Galanis

Local experts don’t see the low commercial rents staying in effect for long, with empty spaces in Athens quickly becoming a hot commodity. After years of tough times for the Athens commercial real estate market, things are beginning to look sunnier.

This is all welcome news for the Greek real estate market, which has seen both residential and commercial real estate prices fall between 40-60 percent since 2009.

According to the latest data from the Bank of Greece, in the first quarter of the year the inflow of capital from abroad for real estate acquisitions increased by 61.7 percent on an annual basis. The March figures have signaled a further improvement, since in the first couple of months the yearly rise had come to 56.7 percent.

If the existing growth rate is sustained throughout 2017, it is likely that by the end of the year more than 430 million euros will have been invested the Greek property market from other countries. The equivalent figure for the whole of 2016 had amounted to 270 million euros, up 45.3 percent on the 2015 inflow of 186 million euros.

The only time a similar growth rate had been recorded before was in the first quarter of 2007, when foreign investors spent 66.5 percent more money on property acquisitions than a year earlier.

Real estate professionals say this uptick in foreign funds entering the local property market is particularly positive because it came during a period when transactions are usually sparse: Expressions of buying interest this year started in the winter months, not in the summer when demand typically peaks. This has bolstered optimism about an even better summer in terms of transactions, which may reach their high for the entire period since the outbreak of the financial crisis.

The major rise in inflows this year is due to the increase in demand for apartments in Athens, primarily in the city center and the southern suburbs. This mainly concerns flats eligible for short-term leasing through Internet platforms such as HomeAway, Airbnb and FlipKey. It also concerns luxury mansions that would fit the bill for the same type of online platforms as well as for the purpose of getting a Golden Visas (for buys of properties worth 250,000 euros or more by investors from outside the European Union).

Besides those buyers aiming for the five-year residence permits, considerable buying interest is also coming from Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany and the Scandinavian countries.

Nikos Roussanoglou / ekathimerini
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– Be flexible when buying. If you’re a potential buyer, make a list but be flexible! When buying, keep three things in mind: location/view – sq.meters/area – price but be open to other options. Exploring property in bordering areas for a better price and opting larger-sized units for smaller-sized ones for a better view are a few examples.

– Keep other costs in mind. Aside from the actual purchase price of the property, there are additional costs to keep in mind. Do your research.

– Between your limited stay and squeezing in tours and beach time, you may want to seek advise when looking for your dream Greek property. If you need help making up your mind on where or what to buy or need additional information of the process involved and the after-costs or simply want to get the gist of the market, rather take advice from an agent.

Consult a Greek property professional and do your own research.

Katerina Sirouni. neoskosmos
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“The year 2015 was peculiar, as it began with great expectations for the property market, but they were postponed owing to the climate of political and economic uncertainty in the first half of the year. In the second half of 2015 the market started working again, with the increase in demand and buying interest consolidated during 2016, which is reflected in transactions,” Sideris told Kathimerini.

He said that interest is coming from various European countries (including France, Great Britain, Germany and Italy), adding that since July 2016 there has been a steep rise in demand from Turkey, as the insecurity in the neighboring country has led many Turks to seek investment opportunities in the Greek housing market, both in terms of holiday homes and apartments in Athens.

Foreign buyers are mostly people who often vacation in Greece and used to rent luxurious villas for their stay. Now that prices have slumped by between 30-40 percent for that end of the market, those people have decided to acquire property of their own.

Demand is focused mainly on properties ranging from 500,000 to 1.5 million euros, which are often leased out during the months that their owners are not in Greece.

Algean found in a recent survey it conducted that the number of houses to have received the necessary certificate for this sharing process are now at 11,000, up 70 percent from three years ago.

Of course the above figures do not constitute a rebound for the entire housing market. A study by PricewaterhouseCoopers showed that estimates for the course of the market are less optimistic, expecting it to grow slower than the Greek economy.

By Nikos Roussanoglou, Greece Is.
more: http://bit.ly/2hKqDeB
ekathimerini.com

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