Securing the golden visa continues to be a major incentive for foreign investors to purchase real estate in Greece, with third-country nationals holding the largest slice of the investment pie. However, from 2022 to the present two significant changes are observed. Firstly, the role of the golden visa as a sole incentive for investments in Greek real estate was limited. Second, there have been changes in the countries of fund origin.
From the available data of the Ministry of Immigration and Asylum and the Bank of Greece, it appears that there were many who chose Greece to invest regardless of the motivation of the golden visa. Real estate companies, businesses that see Greece as a base to develop their activities in the wider region, digital nomads and retirees from foreign countries voted for Greece with their purchases of commercial or residential real estate.
This was helped by new properties being built for business and residential use, but also by the fact that Greece is a safe and developed country – an ideal destination for those who want property for exploitation or private use.
In the previous decade, China was the major capital of buyers with dozens of transactions carried out by Chinese citizens. Today the picture has changed and new dynamic investors come from countries such as Israel, Switzerland, Germany, the USA, Hong Kong, Singapore, Britain and Cyprus. Even Bulgaria and Egypt have a leading role. Their investments are located in residential and commercial properties.
The real estate market in Greece has prospects and this is what the numbers show, since from 875 million euros in 2020 within a three-year period and despite the international crisis, more than twice as much capital has entered and been invested in Greece in recent years.
The numbers
According to the data of the Bank of Greece, in 2022 there was an inflow of capital into the real estate market from foreigners of the order of 1.975 billion euros, when in 2021 the corresponding amount was 1.176 billion euros, i.e. an increase of 65%. In the first quarter of 2023, foreign direct investment in residential real estate reached 500 million euros. From the countries outside the European Union, the largest capital inflow (1.26 billion euros) in 2022 was from countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the USA.
Investments from these countries exceed 50% of the total in Greek real estate. At the same time, the increase from eurozone countries, such as Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, was significant, with total purchases reaching 590 million euros, 25% higher than in 2021, while investments from other non-eurozone EU countries have shown interest in properties in Greece, with investors from Bulgaria buying properties topping €53m from €31m in 2021 and the Czech Republic at €12m from €8 in 2021 and Romania 15 million euros from 9 million a year ago.
Of the countries within the EU, Germany proved to be the most dynamic market, with investments reaching 160 million euros. The Greek expatriate community may also have a significant effect on this increase, since the increase in inflows was also noted by the USA and Australia, which respectively tripled and doubled their purchases last year, countries with a strong Greek element.
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