Global interest for Greek property is on the rise according to data presented during the Prodexpo real estate conference in Athens this week.
The overall picture conveyed by participants at the annual conference, running in its 23rd year, was one of a resilient real estate environment with a range of properties open to potential investors, including private homes, offices and storage areas, but also plots of land for commercial purposes.
One of the most discussed presentations at the conference was delivered by the Greek online real estate classifieds network Spitogatos.gr, showing that up to 20% of all searches on its rental and sales platform originate abroad.
Athens, the Cycladic Islands, and Chalkidiki peninsula in northern Greece are the focus of international investors looking to buy private residential properties, with the available budget averaging around 170,000 euros.
Managing Director Dimitris Melachroinos said that German nationals lead the search for properties all over Greece, followed by United States nationals – including Greeks of the diaspora – showing keen interest in summer homes in high-cost areas like the Cyclades and southern suburbs of Athens.
According to Spitogatos Insights, British citizens are the third top nationals to search for homes to buy. Interest has been expressed by other nationalities including Spanish, Cypriots, and French, with the latter eyeing particularly the island of Paros and the centre of Athens, while Bulgarians are interested in cheaper real estate in Kavala and Chalkidiki.
Prodexpo participants represent international hotel chains and realtors. Eitan Maoz, founder and CEO of EM Global Real Estate Investment, a company which provides services to investors interested in Greece, made special reference to the interest of investors from Israel in the Greek real estate market:
“Israelis are interested in buying real estate in Greece for a number of reasons, starting with the very high prices prevailing in their own country. Here they can buy two or three properties with the same money or participate in small investment projects. In addition, Greece is geographically very close and much more accessible than the US.”