Record foreign buys in realty
Foreign investment in the Greek real estate market, especially housing, recorded an all-time high in 2022. According to data from the Bank of Greece, 1.975 billion euros flowed into the local realty market from abroad last year. That was 68% higher than in 2021, when the corresponding amount had not exceeded €1.17 billion. At the same time, the performance of 2022 surpassed by 37% the previous record set in 2019, when foreign investments had reached €1.45 billion.
The historic performance of 2022 came thanks to the very dynamic fourth quarter, which also saw a record quarterly performance. In total, almost €700 million (€698.5 million) was invested, an amount that was 84.3% higher than the same quarter last year, when €379 million had flowed into the domestic real estate market. The next highest quarterly performance was recorded in the immediately preceding quarter (Q3 2022) with €488.5 million.
To understand the extent of the diversification of the buying public in the real estate market and the dramatic increase in the influence of foreign buyers, it is enough to examine what was happening up until 2016: Until then, the highest annual performance had been the €308.5 million of foreigners’ investments recorded in 2007, when the housing market was at its peak, as was global liquidity. In 2004, for example, the year of the Athens Olympic Games, foreign investment in real estate did not exceed €80.6 million. This development has had a number of factors. First of all, the restart of the international and Greek economy after the pandemic marked the full return of foreigners, which was particularly evident in the second half of 2022.
A decisive role belonged to the change announced in the Golden Visa program for the granting of residence permits last September, but also more recently by the relaxation of the pandemic containment measures in China, allowing Chinese investors to return to Greece.
Another important reason lies in the popularity of short-term rentals and relatively low sales prices. The center of Athens, the southern suburbs, Piraeus and popular destinations are the main areas attracting foreigners.
