PROPERTIES & RESIDENCE

Greece

Capital City
Athens
Currency
EUR
GDP Growth
3.8%
GDP Per Capita
€16,700
Annual Inflation
0.2%
Unemployment
16.5%
Avg net salary
1,200
Avg salary growth
2%
Area (km²)
132000
Border states
AL, MK, TR, BG
Residence

by acquiring properties worth €250,000

Greece Map

Advantages of purchasing estate in Greece

Greece offers a 5-year residence permit to non-EU citizens who invest a minimum of 250,000 EUR in real estate. However, the total cost of the transaction, including taxes and fees, is approximately 300,000 EUR, with government costs and legal documentation amounting to 6% and lawyer fees ranging from 3-4%. The process of obtaining the residence permit for yourself and your dependents (up to 21 years of age) takes only 6 weeks, and you do not need to live in Greece to renew your permit.

You can exchange the property you invest in for another real estate within the 5-year period. There is no limitation on the number of properties you can purchase, but you need to reside in Greece if you want to become a permanent resident. It is worth noting that Greece has a poor track record of naturalizing people.

Restrictions & Challenges

Property taxes are relatively high.
Medical insurance of 300 EUR must be paid during the time of the residence permit.

Greece

Ms. Shuping Li, General Manager of Bank of China (Luxembourg) S.A. Athens Branch, highlights the bank’s role as a bridge that facilitates mutually beneficial cross-border business and investments between Greece and China. She reflects on key investment opportunities in Greece in sectors like energy, infrastructure, tourism, and agriculture.

Current Opportunities

Growth And Business Advantages

Greece's economy is projected to grow by 4.5% next year after a strong rebound this year on stronger tourism, pent-up demand and a boost from state support measures, the government's draft 2022 budget projected on Monday.

The government recently revised upwards this year's projected economic growth rate to 6.1% from 5.9%.

"The economy has already recovered more than two-thirds of the lost gross domestic product in one year, even though economic activity still faced restrictive measures in the first half," Finance Minister Christos Staikouras said.

On Friday Fitch Ratings said Greece's stronger-than-expected economic performance in the first half led it to upwardly revise its full-year 2021 GDP growth forecast to 6.0%.

Greece's economy roared back in the second quarter after a pandemic-induced 8.2% slump last year, growing at a better-than-expected annual rate of 16.2% as consumer spending and investments picked up.

"It seems that regaining the pre-pandemic GDP will take place sooner than expected, in the first half of 2022," said National Bank's chief economist Nikos Magginas.

EY’s survey for Greece, based on a sample of 253 companies worldwide, confirms the improvement of the country's perceived attractiveness. It is worth noting that the improvement comes, for the first time, to a large extent, from companies that have not yet invested in the country and, to a lesser extent, from those already established in Greece.

62% of the sample’s executives, compared to 38% last year, stated that their perception of Greece as a location where their business might establish or develop activities, has improved over the past year, while not a single company surveyed reports that its perception has deteriorated significantly. At the same time, optimism for the coming years is intensifying, with three out of four respondents (75%), compared to 69% last year, expecting the country's attractiveness to further improve over the next three years.

The share of those who believe that Greece is currently implementing an attractiveness policy that attracts global investors has increased, for the second consecutive year, to 71%, from 62% in 2020 and 50% in 2019, indicating that investors attribute the improvement of the country’s attractiveness to the pursuit of specific policies and not simply to the end of a protracted period of economic and political uncertainty, as was likely the case in 2019.

On the fiscal front, next year's draft budget projects the primary budget balance, which excludes debt servicing outlays, will see a deficit of 0.9% of economic output, down from an expected 7.7% of GDP gap this year.

Greece's public debt is projected to drop to 190.4% of GDP in 2022 from an expected 197.9% this year.

Unemployment is seen falling to 14.3% next year from 16.0% this year, the draft budget projected.

Real Estate Trends

"Buying real estate in Greece makes sense only for your own residential purposes" - summed up the experts, stating that in modern conditions investing in Greek real estate is not a good idea. "The most important obstacles to the recovery of the Greek real estate market are the steady increase in the tax burden on real estate, high transaction costs, and continued tax instability," said Ekaterina Tein, Greek real estate specialist. The expert is confident that real estate prices in Greece will continue to fall by at least 3-5% annually. According to her, housing in holiday regions has become so affordable that it is in great demand among the Russian client. “It would seem that the real estate market is worse than ever for the Greeks and the Greek economy. The regrettable results of recent years clearly show that, from an investment perspective, the real estate market in Greece is absolutely unattractive and will remain so for at least another 2-3 years, ”said Igor Indriksons, another real estate specialist in Greece.

 

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