Greek Property Prices Rise Twice As Fast As Before The Pandemic
Apartment prices in Greece have been rising steadily for the past four years. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the price increase only slowed down in 2020. At the end of the third quarter of 2021, house prices have risen by around 10% compared to 2019.
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Geoaxis has compared apartment prices in Greece on an annual basis for the third quarter of 2021 with the same periods in 2019 and 2020. Two criteria were taken into account: the types of Greek properties and housing prices in the Greek capital Athens.
Geoaxis is a Greek property valuation company in Greece, Cyprus and the Balkan Peninsula. The company appraises properties according to the standards of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, or RICS.
Apartment prices in Greece in 2021
Price rises depending on the type of property. Apartment prices in new buildings are rising faster than in the Greek secondary market. The main reason is the increase in the cost of construction materials.
How much have the prices for apartments in Greece increased in 2021?
Prices rise in different areas of the city of Athens. The biggest price increases per square metre in apartments are seen in Ambelokipi, Paleo Faliro and Amarusion — on average, property prices in these areas are increasing by 8‑10% annually.
The rise in Greek property prices has not stopped since 2018, according to the Central Bank of Greece. In 2021, Greek property prices rose faster than in 2020. The reason is that the country’s economy has started to recover from the crisis amid a coronavirus pandemic.
Greek property prices will begin to rise even faster when the economy fully recovers. The European Commission predicts Greek GDP growth of 7,1% at the end of 2021 — higher than the EU average.
Wealthy people prefer to own a property in Greece in order to come to the country for holidays. Greece is recognised as one of the best places in the world to buy a country house: foreigners are more likely to buy a holiday property in the country, according to Compare the Market.
Foreigners can get a residence permit in Greece by purchasing real estate if they take part in a government investment programme.
How to get a residence permit in Greece by purchasing a property
There is a residence permit programme in Greece, the Greek Golden Visa Programme. To take part in it, you can buy residential or commercial property worth at least €250,000.
€250,000
Minimum investment for a Greek residence permit
Investments in real estate are the minimum among the residence permit programmes in EU countries. Investors have the right to rent out the property and after five years, they can obtain a permanent residence permit in Greece and sell the properties.
The property can be owned by a single investor or by a married couple. To register a single property in the name of a married couple, each of them needs to invest at least €250,000 — for example, to buy a house worth €500,000. Real estate can also be registered in the name of a company, if it is registered in the EU and the investor owns 100% of the shares.
A residence permit in Greece allows the investor and his family to live, study and work in the country, as well as to travel freely within the Schengen states. The investor and his family will also be able to come to Greece for holidays at any time, even when the borders are closed.
Immigrant Invest is a licensed investment programme agent for residence permits in Greece. If you want to become a resident of the European Union, seek advice from experts in investment programmes.
