Commercial property optimism vanishes
All of the optimism in Athens’s professional property market has vanished within just 12 months, according to the annual report of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) on the trends in Europe.
From ranking fifth among 28 European markets in terms of investment realization prospects, the Greek capital has this year dropped to 27th, the 2016 report showed on Monday.
This optimism evaporated “after a year of political and economic chaos, where the exit from the eurozone was averted thanks to last-minute frenetic negotiations,” the report explains.
It also cites statements by an international investor saying that “last year we were surprised by the number of people saying that Greece was one of the most attractive markets to seek out investment opportunities. We did not believe that then and we do not believe it now either.”
The country’s collapsing commercial property prospects are clearly attributed to its dreadful financial position. Many investors among those who participated in the survey said that the crisis is still far from over: “Greece would have had an important spot in the news had it not been for the immigration issue and for Syria,” one said.
Still, the report does note the confidence of investors that the flow of funds to Greece for investment in its property market will grow, taking the country to the seventh spot in this category.
