Real estate in Greece is bought up by foreigners, "like hot cakes"

This year will go down in the history of the Greek economy not only with records in the tourism industry, but also with high rates of investment by foreigners in Greek real estate.

According to the Bank of Greece, in the second quarter of 2022, capital inflows from abroad for the purchase of real estate in the country reached €414.4 million, i.e. 67% more than in the same period in 2021. This is the best quarterly figure since 2019, when foreign investment was €410.3 million in the fourth quarter, and the third highest figure ever. The record quarterly high falls on the last three months of 2018, during that period it amounted to €464 million.

In the first half of this year, writes GreekReporter, registered an annual growth of 61% in foreign capital inflows, or €788 million compared to €488 million that came to Greece in the first 6 months of last year. Considering that real estate investment activity tends to show higher data in the second half of the year, and based on today’s pace, it is almost certain that a new record will be set this year.

To date, the country’s largest amount inflowed in a calendar year was €1.45 billion in pre-pandemic 2019. This year, experts believe, this figure will be easily surpassed and is expected to approach 1.6-1.7 billion euros.

An important factor attracting foreign investors is the recent increase in interest rates. This has significantly accelerated decision making as it is clear that the cost of borrowing will continue to rise in the coming quarters. Brokers and notaries working in the real estate market testify that in the summer months of this year there was a large volume of purchases and sales with the participation of foreign investors who actively returned after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. Most of them prefer apartments in the center of the Greek capital, quality construction in the southern suburbs of Attica and luxurious country houses in popular areas.

Recently, our publication wrote that, owning a property in Greece, you need to “keep your finger on the pulse” in order to be aware of the latest changes in tax legislation. The most important thing to pay attention to – up-to-date information 2022 of the year in the material of the Athens News.

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