A realty investment magnet
Greek households may find it difficult to find an affordable home to buy in the country, due to the rise in prices and the increase in interest rates; however, for most foreign buyers, Greece is an investment “paradise.” This is because it combines low prices (compared to many other countries), a stable political and economic system and the potential for future capital gains.
In this context, after all, Greece and its individual regions have now begun to appear in international studies, from which this country had been absent for a number of years.
In this year’s global survey by CIA Landlords Insurance, one of the largest online providers of property insurance for landlords in Britain, it emerged that Athens is the cheapest city to buy a home. In particular, the average selling price in the center of Athens is 1,940 euros per square meter, while the next city is Madrid with a cost of €3,190/sq.m.
Accordingly, in Rome the relative cost amounts to €3,790/sq.m., in London €4,826/sq.m., while in Stockholm the average rate exceeds €6,000/sq.m. (6,015). In Tokyo the average cost is €6,223/sq.m.
It should be noted that according to the price indices of the Bank of Greece, in the period 2017-2023, a cumulative increase of 68% was recorded in Attica, while on national level the increase was almost 50%. Nevertheless, according to a relevant analysis by National Bank, published last week, prices in the whole country are still 14% below the highest point they were at in the third quarter of 2008.
At the same time, though, in the rest of the eurozone prices are 37% higher than in 2008, so the comparison is particularly favorable for the Greek market. This explains the steep increase in foreign investment in recent years.
In 2018-2022, foreign direct investment in Greece reached €3.5 billion, constituting 25% of the total number of residential property transactions carried out on an annual basis. In January-March 2023 there was an annual increase of 33% to almost €500 million.
