Greek Holiday Properties
Greek holiday properties are part of the industry that seems to be helping Greece out of recession in the coming months. Experts are optimistic about the demand for holiday properties for sale, the number of which currently amounts to 30,000 – 40,000.
According to the information provided so far, as well as reports from various real estate agencies, the first signs of improvement in the real estate market for holiday properties are evident in the current year. During the first five months (January – May 2014), the inflow of capital from abroad in terms of investments in Greek holiday properties amounted to EUR 92.1 million. This represents an increase of over 100% compared to the corresponding period last year.
This remarkable foreign influx of liquidity is all the more significant from the point of view that the Greek real estate market had more or less come to a standstill during the relevant period due to confusion regarding the application of the new real estate tax, with the result that the vast majority of interested parties stayed away from the real estate market.
The aim is therefore to stabilise the tax legal framework so that prices can be fixed and real estate purchases can be promoted. The continuous taxation interventions and the undoubtedly enormous tax burden for property owners continue to fuel uncertainty in the real estate industry, although the basic interest is immense due to the fall in prices.
The reduction of holiday property prices, the increasing number of tourists in connection with the measures taken to promote real estate purchases, as well as the reduction of the real estate transfer tax to 3% as well as the granting of residence permits to buyers from non-EU countries have led to greater demand on the buyer’s side. This does not even include the inflow of capital from the summer months.
In any case, these facts and figures provide optimism regarding the demand for Greek holiday properties, which at the same time also indicates a gradual exit of the entire real estate market from the crisis. The prices of holiday homes have continued to fall by 5-6% this year, although it should be noted that they have recorded a decrease of 40-50% since the beginning of the crisis until today.
The Cyclades, Crete and Corfu were among the most popular locations this year for the acquisition of cheap, well-located Greek holiday properties by buyers from Germany, the UK, France, China and Russia.
