Experts argue that now is the right time to invest in the Greek real estate market, as demand and prices are constantly on the rise. The properties still remain at affordable prices and the supply will hardly exceed the demand, especially in the urban centers of Athens and Thessaloniki, where the possibilities for the construction of newly built residential properties are particularly limited.
According to Kosmas Theodoridis, Vice-President of the Association of Real Estate Agents of Athens – Attica, the time is right to buy a property for one more reason.
“The Athens of 2015, of closed banks and capital controls, was very reminiscent of London of 1993, only worse,” he says.
As he explains, in 1993, Britain was coming out of a deep recession caused by games with the European Monetary Mechanism. In the shopping streets many shops were closed and with boards in their windows. Unemployment was high and money was hard and expensive.
“You could buy a flat in London for a few tens of thousands of pounds. A studio apartment in Bayswater, for example, was changing hands for 30-40 thousand, a small two-bedroom a little more,” he comments.
But three years later, in 1996, the situation had changed dramatically: an upward cycle, which continues with some periods of correction to this day, began that has lasted for the last thirty years during which prices have increased up to tenfold, creating huge capital gains in those who had bought.
But why does Athens of 2015 have points of comparison with London of 1993. Because 2015 marked the definitive price bottom and the start of the upward rally that continues to this day. “The process that is known in English as gentrification and we translate it in Greek as the ‘gentrification’ of areas with a simultaneous significant rise in values is in full swing.
The sometimes dramatic rise in rents marks the corresponding phase of the cycle. Of course, another Britain and another Greece, both in economic importance and in global economic distribution or population dynamism.
However, the proportions not only with London, which is after all a global metropolis, but with all European capitals, we could say a few things for sure,” he explains.
For Mr. Theodoridis, there are a number of reasons in favor of investing in the real estate market.
First, the Greek market, which is moving rapidly upwards, seems to be in a phase difference, which benefits those who position themselves in it.
Second, Greece remains significantly cheaper than all comparable countries, still having properties priced below replacement cost.
Thirdly, the management of credits and the required attention that should accompany the venture will decide not only the future of real estate for more and more citizens.
Fourth, in possible downward corrections, prices are not expected to reach the 2015 lows again, “unless the economy suffers a similarly massive shock.”
“Such a corrective phase is in all probability ahead of us with the dramatic changes in interest rates and the economic recession that is coming to the Eurozone. What exactly will happen in our country and how much it will affect us is an open question, but it is certain that it will affect us, creating, among other things, investment opportunities. Those who do not yet have a position in the real estate market, maybe they should seriously think about it” concludes K. Theodoridis.
Source: Liberal
