ARiadni Real Estate Blog

It seems the Greek real estate market will be in an advantageous position

24 April, 2020

It seems the Greek real estate market will be in an advantageous position as soon as the measures that have been put in place limiting travel to and from other countries are lifted and international investors return. The ‘golden visa’ programme, through which residence permits are issued to investors from countries outside the EU who are prepared to invest at least 250,000 Euros in the real estate market, is expected to be in the vanguard once again.

Henley & Partners, an investment consulting firm specialised in purchasing homes through programmes such as the ‘golden visa’, published a report noting that the pandemic will push more high income investors to re-evaluate their investment strategy and, mainly, to secure their capital and those close to them against potential future financial shocks. In that framework, countries with successful residence permit or citizenship programmes will find themselves in the spotlight, with Greece in an especially advantageous position to benefit from this trend.

According to the company’s CEO, Dr Juerg Steffen, “investment immigration is a profitable solution for foreign investors and for the states that implement it. Many high income earners choose European real estate purchase programmes, because they pose a unique investment opportunity, which includes returns from obtaining and taking advantage of real estate, the potential of capitalising on future capital gains, and the possibility of alternative homes or even a second citizenship. However, what is clear is that investors (in Greece’s case it is mainly Chinese investors, who make up 75-80% of the residence permit applications) will return from the fourth quarter of the year onwards.

On standby

According to Niki Symboura, head of the Proprius real estate services company, “the impact of the pandemic on the property market is clear. Although transactions in advanced negotiation stages are proceeding, albeit with some delays, most international investors are adopting a short-term standby position as regards new investments”. In its analysis on behalf of Cushman & Wakefield, with which Proprius has a strategic partnership regarding the Greek market, Ms Symboura noted that, “we are expecting a low second and third quarter, and we are hoping for a fourth quarter with much more intense activity in 2020. As regards real estate funding, it is too soon to record any changes in the terms of funding in Greece, if there ends up being any impact”, she mentioned.

At the same time, of course, it should be noted that there is still some activity on the side of domestic investors, who are still searching for real estate opportunities, a trend that is gradually increasing week by week. As far as office purchases are concerned, users have postponed any plans they had to move, at least for the next few weeks, while they are increasingly looking into short-term flexible leasing solutions. “Naturally, this crisis has had some positive effects, considering that the lockdown measures have accelerated the implementation of digital technologies in many aspects of entrepreneurship, while the increased use of technology is attracting the interest of office users”, stressed Ms Symboura.
The retail sectors (commercial stores) and hospitality (hotel real estate) have clearly suffered most of all, as is the case in all other European markets. As regards the logistics sector, on the one hand it is facing difficulties due to the suspension of deliveries of goods from abroad and, on the other hand, the increased demand due to e-commerce is generating a positive impact.

NIKOS ROUSANOGLOU

kathimerini.gr