Athens properties woo investors
Athens is evolving into an international destination for small and medium-sized property investors, focusing mainly on homes, thanks to low sale prices and the prospect of immediate returns through short-term leasing on Internet platforms.
In the first five months of the year the number of contracts submitted to the Athens Land Register – which concerns the area of the City of Athens – showed a rise of 49.2 percent from the same period last year.
Property market professionals say that buying interest for apartments in central Athens remains unabated, as foreign investors believe prices will soon record a rise, limiting the chance of reaping considerable gains in the future.
This is a clear indication of the momentum in the housing market in the Athens city center, mainly in the areas of Koukaki, Plaka, Monastiraki, Neos Cosmos, Mets, Keramikos, Metaxourghio, Gazi, Pangrati and Exarchia.
According to property management officials, some 7,000 apartments and houses are currently available for hire on Internet platforms such as Airbnb, stopping the slide of prices. Bank of Greece data for the first quarter of the year showed an annual slide of just 0.1 percent, which is the lowest rate in the 10 years since the outbreak of the crisis.
