Greece : Local realty gets ever more attractive

Total funds of €1.02 billion flowed into the Greek real estate market from abroad in the first half of the year.

Based on data monitored by the Bank of Greece (BoG), that is 6.7% higher than the same period last year. During the second quarter, the relative amount reached €515.8 million, being 11.2% lower than the corresponding period last year.

The important conclusion, however, is that this performance is achieved despite a large drop in new applications for residence permits through the Golden Visa program.

Given that the pie of foreign investment has increased slightly from last year, the share of foreign investors making use of the investment immigration program has decreased significantly.

According to figures from the Department of Immigration and Asylum, in the first half of this year new applications for Golden Visas recorded a drop of 44% – 2,551 new applications, compared to 4,553 that had been submitted in the same period of the previous year.

After the changes made to the program, the bulk of the new applications concern investments of €250,000 and fewer €400,000, while there are few concerning the limit of €800,000 that applies to Attica, Thessaloniki and all the large islands with a minimum permanent population of more than 3,150 inhabitants.

Securing a permit with the reduced limit of €250,000 is the main incentive for investors today, as it allows them to acquire a property even in the €800,000 areas, especially in Attica, which gathers the main volume of investment interest.

This is achieved if a property has come from a change of use, following reconstruction.

Therefore, the consistently high attraction of foreign capital for the real estate market in Greece, as shown by the data of the central bank, is a clear indication of the purchasing interest from abroad, with completely different characteristics compared to previous years.

Demand is expressed more by people who are not interested in reselling their property in two to three years for quick capital gains, but have a genuine interest in acquiring a house in Greece for themselves and for investment.