Promoting property
Aiming at promoting the Greek property market in Germany, the German-Greek Business Association (Deutsch-Hellenische Wirtschaftsvereinigung – DHW) is for the first time hosting major construction companies, insurers and estate agencies from both countries at its annual conference held in Dusseldorf today and tomorrow. Titled «The Property Market in Greece after the Olympic Games: Present, future and growth prospects in the sector,» the conference also intends to make potential German investors aware of the Greek construction sector and the new tax and development regulations, said DHW’s president and member of the European Parliament Giorgos Hadzimarkakis. «Although in the last decade there has been a decline in tourism internationally, we have noted a mobility in the real estate market by Western Europeans, mainly the French, Germans and Italians, toward Mediterranean countries,» noted Hadzimarkakis, the only German MEP of Greek origin. «We believe the Germans’ increased interest in Greece can be utilized, but this does not mean we would like to see Greek villages turn into German or Italian. I think the interest of Western Europeans in Greece, combined with the return of Greek migrants to their homeland will bring deserted villages back to life,» said the DHW president. He also warned that «the right decisions must be made and incentives ought to be given to Greeks abroad through special programs, solving any problems hampering them.» The DHW conference is held under the auspices of the Grecophile mayor of Dusseldorf, Joachim Erwin, in association with Germany’s main bodies in the sector (the German Property Owners Association – Haus und Grund Deutschland, the National Association of German Estate Agents – IVD Bund, the Greek-German Union for the Protection of Property Abroad DHSG etc). The Greek representation will include Deputy Economy Minister Antonis Bezas as well as the ministries of Environment, Macedonia-Thrace and Foreign Affairs. Greek property bodies will also be represented in the event, headed by the Panhellenic Federation of Property Owners (POMIDA). After the traditional symposium of Greek entrepreneurs in Europe tomorrow, DHW will deliver its annual awards for German-Greek Entrepreneurship in a special event. DHW was founded in 1993 in Cologne by German and Greek entrepreneurs, freelancers and managers to promote German-Greek and German-Cypriot financial and trade relations.
