ECONOMY

Residence permit carrot draws interest from investors

Up to 3,000 upmarket homes are set to be sold to non-European Union citizens wishing to invest in the Greek market in order to acquire a five-year residence permit in Greece.

This investment incentive (which is conditional on a minimum of 250,000 euros being spent on property), has drawn strong interest from Chinese, American and Russian buyers and investors over the last few months. Given the high price threshold, investors can buy more than one property in order to reach the amount required.

Estate agents say they have been approached by foreign agencies to that end, and estimate that the required amount of properties will be hard to find in the local market despite the surplus of over 200,000 unsold homes across the country.

Theologos Bosdas, head of the Greek branch of German estate agency Engel & Volkers, says, “We do not have a sufficient number of properties, as construction in Greece is fragmented: There are not enough homes per seller or builder to satisfy that specific category of buyers.”

Subscribe to our Newsletters

Enter your information below to receive our weekly newsletters with the latest insights, opinion pieces and current events straight to your inbox.

By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.