Israelis snap up local realty
They have caught up with the Chinese as the biggest group of property investors in the country
The Greek real estate market has evolved into an investment destination for foreign investors, with the Israelis and the Chinese being the most dynamic countries.
According to relevant research carried out by the real estate network of RE/MAX Hellas, the safe profile of Greece continues to attract investors, as 50% of buyers proceed to acquire a property in this country with the aim of investment. Some 22% of buyers do so for leisure/holiday purposes, and an additional 20% for home ownership.
Based on the above analysis, investors from Israel occupy the first position in the Greek market, while the top three are completed by those from China and Germany. It should be noted that many of the investors from Germany are Greek expatriates.
They are followed by investors from Bulgaria and Turkey, while European investors from Italy, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom also make significant purchases.
As the company emphasizes in its analysis, “in recent years, a large percentage of foreign buyers chose to purchase residential properties in our country either for tourism purposes or for a permanent residence after their retirement.”
However, differences arise depending on the investment area. Specifically, buyers from China dominate in Attica, followed by those from Israel, as well as investors from France, Germany and the United Kingdom. People from countries in the Middle East, such as the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Syria and Turkey, also bought properties in Greece.
In northern Greece, the “geography” of property investors from abroad differs, as citizens from Germany, Bulgaria, Serbia and Turkey are in the first positions. Accordingly, in the Ionian islands, strong buying interest has been shown by the British, the Germans and the Dutch, while on Crete most investments were made by people coming from Israel, Germany, Great Britain and France. In southern Greece, the main countries of investors’ origin are Israel, China, Germany and Lebanon.
