ARiadni Real Estate Blog

Which foreign investors backed down due to a pandemic

14 November, 2020

By Dimitris Delevegos

Despite the structural problems that the Greek economy was facing and struggling to overcome before the advent of the coronavirus and the crisis of credibility that had undergone successful investment attraction initiatives such as the Golden Visa, foreign investors had not stopped plowing the real estate market for opportunities. This is because they had foreseen the upward trend of the real estate market, which, until it recovered, had in good areas with strong tourist traffic, such as the center of Athens or Thessaloniki, properties at a low price. This, combined with the boom in short-term leases and the large number of vacant and abandoned buildings that can be converted into modern offices or hotels, has attracted strong investment interest. Result; Many foreign companies have chosen the Greek real estate to invest their funds, looking forward to securing goodwill. However, some of them were "under the radar" of the real estate market and their activity, which has been "frozen" today due to the pandemic, remained largely unknown. Who are the most important players in this category?

Chinese ...

The program of granting residence permits to third-country nationals in exchange for investments of 250,000 euros was a strong "magnet" of Chinese companies that were placed in the Greek real estate market. Therefore, one of the largest immigration offices in China, which in exchange for a commission to promote Greek real estate in the Chinese market, belonged to the Chinese investors in the domestic real estate market. The reason for the Chinese Wailian Group, which is one of the largest immigration companies in China, with 300 employees, and established a branch in Greece two years ago. The object of Wailian's activity was the conversion of a building it has acquired on Kolokotroni Street in Athens into furnished houses. The property is located on a plot of about 400 square meters, with the company having developed shops on the ground floor and houses on the six floors of the property. The company has sold the apartments to Chinese businessmen seeking free access to 26 Schengen countries, but has not launched any new development projects, mainly due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.
The Wailian Group sells homes located in residing countries, with its clientele being almost exclusively Asian. What kind of real estate did he promote in our country? "Package" of four apartments in the center of Athens with a sale price of a total of 250,000 euros, seven apartments worth 250,000 to 330,000 euros each in Kallithea, but also houses in the Southern Suburbs. The low required amount of the investment, the non-obligation for the buyer to stay in Greece, even for a few days, and for where they are, are, according to the company, the comparative advantages of the Greek program.
Wailian's president and CEO is Linda He, who has been awarded the Cleveland, Ohio Award for her contribution to boosting local employment, as in the US, investing in real estate related to the Golden Visa program should create a minimum number of jobs.
However, the company has limited its activity due to coronavirus, without being the only one from the country of the Dragon. It is indicative that from the beginning of 2020 until the beginning of September, only 368 new residence permits were issued, according to the data of the Ministry of Immigration Policy. At the same time, since the start of the relevant program, 7,903 investors have made use of the opportunity provided, proceeding to purchase real estate worth at least 250,000 euros.
At the end of 2019, which was a record year, the relevant number had risen to 7,535 licenses, compared to 4,107 licenses at the end of 2018. However, the inability of interested investors to travel to Greece, due to the pandemic and the Commission's decision to ban on entry to citizens from non-EU countries with a few exceptions, has put that market on the ice.

... Lebanese and Turks

Lebanese have also invested in the Greek real estate market. As a result, the Lebanese company Towa Investments has proceeded with the reconstruction of a five-storey building located on a plot of 135 sq.m., on Chiou Street in Kaisariani, having created luxurious furnished houses. Towa Investments, based on Plutarchou Street in Kolonaki and managed by Assi Antoine, has been active in real estate in recent years, offering the furnished apartment buildings Muses Residence, The Athens Insider and the Athens Explorer in Koukaki and the Filopappou area. It is estimated that it manages more than 50 furnished apartments that are promoted for rent in the Greek market through a booking website. They had a strong interest before the pandemic. It should be noted that Assi is a partner in the technical company, based in Lebanon, Elite Engineering & Contracting, founded in 1982 and specializing in building construction projects.

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