In recent months, it has been observed that foreign buyers have turned their attention strongly to luxury homes in the southern suburbs, and especially in the part of the Athenian Riviera.
For example, a German buyer, a senior executive at a start-up technology company, recently bought a 200-square-foot apartment in Glyfada.
The specific house cost 2.1 million euros, ie over 10,000 euros / sq.m. This is a high standard property, with a private pool on the terrace, which has a “plate” in the Saronic Gulf, and an installed underfloor heating system.
Another recently completed purchase concerns the acquisition, in a newly built residential complex, of a total of four apartments. This is a move made by an investor from Lebanon, who has the exclusive representation of a mobile phone company.
This businessman wanted to buy all the apartments, of 72 sq.m., 90 sq.m., 110 sq.m. and 30 sq.m., which were built on one of the floors of the complex, in order to ensure privacy. The cost of the real estate is estimated to have exceeded 8,000 euros / sq.m. With the total amount approaching 2.5 million euros.
Also, in Voula, under newly built construction, an Egyptian trader from the chocolate and confectionery industry in general, with a company listed on the Cairo Stock Exchange, bought three apartments.
These are properties of 70 sq.m. each, which were acquired for his three children, at a cost of 3,000 euros / sq.m. The total amount of the investment amounted to 630,000 euros. It is worth noting that real estate remains vacant to this day, as these people neither live in real estate nor rent it out. The purchase was made primarily to secure the relevant residence permits under the “golden visa” program.
According to real estate market executives, demand has picked up over the past year as the country has begun to gain a share of the luxury housing pie around the world, having significant comparative advantages over other established markets such as the French Riviera, Monaco, the Canary Islands etc.
According to Dimitris Rizos, head of the real estate management development company Homm, “Athens, and especially the southern suburbs that offer access to the sea, has entered the international map of the housing market and is now attracting a high-income public. An important role in this development has certainly been played by Lamda Development’s investment for the renovation of the former airport in Elliniko, as it has offered plenty of free advertising of the Athenian Riviera abroad “.
According to Mr. Rizos, significant mobility is shown by US buyers, including many expatriates, British, French, Egyptians, Lebanese and even Australians.
As a rule, luxurious and newly built constructions are preferred, which also have significant costs. According to Mr. Rizos, many of the properties that are currently being constructed in areas such as Vouliagmeni and Voula cost around 5,000-6,000 euros / sq.m. Along with the cost of the plot, resulting in being sold at prices of 8,000 euro / sq.m. and above, often even up to 10,000 euros / sq.m.
On the part of Greek investors, few are able to meet such high prices, which of course does not apply to foreigners. As Kosmas Theodoridis, vice-president of the Athens-Attica Realtors Association, reports to “K”, “lately we have been observing particular mobility in the market, e.g. from executives of start-ups and high-tech companies.
Many of them sell their shares or receive a hefty bonus to achieve goals and rush to invest these amounts in the real estate market. In fact, this is even truer if they have some connection with Greece, with their first stop being usually the coastal front of Attica “.
According to Mr. Theodoridis, the “story of the Athenian Riviera” has become widely known abroad in recent years, with the result that many foreigners want to gain their own share in the rising zone of the beach.
Another important reason is that the choice of Athens is considered, especially for foreigners, a very attractive prospect, if the cost is compared with other European destinations. “A property in a similar location abroad costs about 30,000 euros / sq.m. Almost three times more than in Greece, where the new constructions are more luxurious than those abroad”, Mr. Theodoridis emphasizes.
In addition to the purchase of apartments and maisonettes by private individuals, recently there has been intense construction activity either by Greeks or by foreign investors.
For example, an Egyptian real estate investor has built dozens of apartments in the area of Voula, Glyfada and Vouliagmeni, selling, mainly to wealthy compatriots, who are also interested in securing the Golden Visa.
Respectively, information states that a few weeks ago a Greek investor bought an area of 4.2 acres in Lagonisi, where in the past the tavern “Palio Mouragio” was housed. This is a coastal area, which cost about 2 million euros. A luxury residential complex is to be built at the site.
Similar intentions have been expressed by other investors, especially from the Middle East and Turkey, who are looking for suitable properties for the construction of new buildings, which they plan to sell to both their compatriots and Greek buyers. The latter, however, seem to prefer at the moment the developments planned in the area of the former airport in Elliniko.
In any case, those who invest in the coastal front of Attica, whether they are individuals or companies planning new housing developments, do so because of the general perception that prices in the region will continue to rise in the coming years.
This is supported by both Mr. Theodoridis and Mr. Rizos. “We are at the beginning of this trend, ie the search for luxury homes in Greece by foreign buyers. “Once the construction of the first buildings in Elliniko begins, the prices will increase even more in the surrounding areas of the southern suburbs”, notes Mr. Rizos.
For example, at the moment the buying interest of retirees from the countries of Northern Europe, for whom there is a specific legal regulation that offers significant tax incentives for their arrival in Greece, has not yet been captured in the market. The regulation stipulates that any retired foreign citizen who chooses to transfer his tax headquarters to Greece, will pay income tax at a very low rate of 7% of the amount of the pension.
This rate will be valid for ten years. Apart from the need for an agreement to avoid double taxation between Greece and the country where the pension is issued and paid, the condition is that the pensioner resides in Greece for at least 183 days.
The first 200 applications have already been submitted and the real estate market expects a significant increase in interest in the coming years, as well as the pandemic, which, in fact, delayed decision-making for many. Given that people who would be interested in moving their tax headquarters to Greece are mainly middle- and high-income, and will also need some housing to stay (if they do not already have one), this arrangement is considered particularly important for the real estate market. .
In fact, according to a relevant study, carried out by the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, in collaboration with diANEOsis, the annual benefit to GDP is estimated at about 5 billion euros, while the creation of 60,000 new jobs each year.
Source: Capital.gr
