The new Athens - And why one should secure the location now.
Greece’s economy has been growing since the third quarter of 2018. The country is in catch-up mode — a sprint. The real estate market in Athens is an important indicator for the economy.
July 2015 saw the lowest housing prices during the crisis, a brutal devaluation that Athens has since left behind. By the end of 2018, real estate prices had risen slowly but steadily. Since 2019 there have been significant increases, but prices are still far below those of a major European metropolis due to the crisis.
With the current economic growth and the strong activities of the new Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to improve the economic conditions for domestic and foreign companies and investors, Athens has great potential for capital growth. The historic city is developing into an international real estate location.
Vaggelis Kteniadis, managing property developer at V² Development, is one who knows and promotes the real estate market in Athens like no other. V² Development was founded in 1962 as the successor to Ergon S.A., a company that defined the real estate sector in Greece. Since then, V² has brokered over 7,500 properties under their ownership to investors from around the world. The Golden Visa program played an important role in generating international direct investment for Greece during the financial crisis. With the economic upturn, customers from Central and Western Europe are also entering the market. For this purpose, Kteniadis has secured a license for the German real estate agency “Von Poll”. A team of Germans and Greeks manages the brokerage of real estate for the new demand from Europe.
Premium properties on the Athens Riviera are in demand. Sea views and stone floors promise luxury that cannot be obtained at the prices and geographical locations in cities such as Berlin, Frankfurt nor London. The glamour along the sea in the Athens quarter of Glyfada is particularly popular. The further south you go, towards Voula on Kavouri Beach or the luxurious coast of Varkiza, the more exclusive it gets. In these areas, Kteniadis offers exclusive construction projects with V².
With a property transfer tax of 3.09%, the acquisition costs are among the lowest in Europe. Developers such as Kteniadis have specialised in the complete refurbishment of vacant properties to ensure that the favourable acquisition costs take effect. New construction projects built in 2006 or later are subject to 24% sales tax, which is non-refundable for foreign investors. This is also changing: “Sales tax on new construction properties will be frozen for the next 3 years. The new law will take effect from 1.1.2020,” reports Kteniadis. “This will not only increase our construction activity, because the acquisition will be more economical for our clients, but also foreign property developers will now come onto the market.”
V² Development and Von Poll in Athens are important strategic local partners for the real estate brokerage of The Coup to foreign investors. For further information and a free consultation about Athens visit https://athens.thecoup.de/.
