ARiadni Real Estate Blog

How the pandemic is changing real estate investments

22 October, 2020

The pandemic has brought a "brake" to the investment boom of recent years regarding the Greek real estate market, with industry executives attempting a first assessment of the situation during the 21st Prodexpo Conference.

During yesterday's first day of the two-day conference, executives in the real estate market agreed, however, that the coronavirus crisis accelerated developments and strengthened the shift of interest to other categories.

According to the speakers, the tourist real estate sector was hit, especially in the city hotels, although many noted that it will recover in the medium term. On the other hand, there is an increasing interest in infrastructure and warehouse buildings, to the detriment of commercial real estate, while the question remains how the demand will be formed regarding the purchase or rental of office space, given the expansion of teleworking.

Regarding the purchase of residential real estate, despite the crisis, the absence of foreign investors and the restraint of domestic potential buyers, there are price increases in a number of areas.

In addition, market executives distinguish further "opening the gap" between quality real estate and those that do not meet standards and commerciality, resulting in fatal "inactivity or another cycle of invisibility," said Panos Panagiotidis, general manager of operations. Dimand real estate development company.

For his part, the CEO of Prodea AEEAP A. Karytinos said that the crisis has created opportunities in other markets, attracting foreign investors while on the other hand those who continue negotiations in Greece seek price reduction. According to all estimates, this year the value of foreign investment in Greece is expected to be significantly lower, compared to last year when it was set at 1.45 billion euros, representing 35% of total foreign direct investment.

He noted that there is a shift of interest in warehouses and infrastructure centers to the detriment of offices and stores, but noted that excessive estimates are made, saying that "that we will work from home or that we will shop en masse from home, will not happen on the scale that we expect ".
 
In the same vein, Eri Mitsostergiou, president of ULI Greece & Cyprus, also stated that "after 9/11, we all said we would not get on a plane and build skyscrapers again, but neither did either."

The general manager of Danos - BNP Paribas Real Estate Giannis Paraskevopoulos focused on the blow received by the hotels, while the CEO of Values Panagiotis Merekoulias, referring to the residential properties, stated that some small and old properties based on the short-lived one will probably have a problem.

Penny Koutra

Source: HuffPost Greece