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Real estate opportunities in Greece

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Real estate opportunities

• Plots of land and residential real estate for sale in Greece

• Buying a home in Greece: Real estate tips and info for foreigners

• Office space / storage

• List of selected residential tourism, golf and leisure-integrated real estate investment opportunities in Greece

• Investing in golf development and resorts in Greece:
  Foreign investors are sought to jumpstart the 'embryonic' Greek golf industry and invest in golf resorts, residential tourism developments and integrated leisure resorts

• Corinth: the new housing hot spot:
  With a much improved highway and new Athens airport in place, a commute from Corinth to Athens has become not only doable but desirable to a growing number of Athenians, and the Corinth real-estate market is heating up fast.

• The Cretan property specialist:
  Sells and rents businesses, houses, land and property in Makryialos, based in the South-Eastern corner of Crete

Investing in golf infrastructure and resorts in Greece

The Association of Greek Tourist Enterprises (SETE), in its study Greek Tourism 2010: Strategy and Goals published in 2002, argued that by the end of the decade the Greek tourist industry should be targeting 19.4 million arrivals and receipts of USD 15 billion -- respectively increases of 32% and 48.5%. Such growth would only marginally increase Greece's share in the European market share from 3% in 2000 to 3.68% in 2010 and in the world from 1.87% to 1.92%.

To support such growth, the study argued, the sector would have to invest in 128,000 new hotel beds, which will contribute to the improvement in quality of Greek hotels, and increase its stock of up-market ancillary services to 45 golf courses, 15 autonomous conference/congress centres, 24 thalassotherapy centres and 42 marinas. " These goals," the study concluded, "are ambitious but not unattainable" -- particularly in light of the potential legacy of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.

Greece currently has only five 18-hole courses -- one each in Athens (Glyfada Golf Club), Rhodes (Afantou), Corfu (Corfu Golf & Country Club), in Hersonissos on the island of Crete and the Chalkidiki peninsula (Porto Carras) -- and one nine-hole course on the island of Crete (Elounda), which is more of an outsize pitch and putt than a golf course, with the longest hole being 140 yards, playable with a seven iron. There are currently two courses under construction and several others on the drawing board.

The necessary golf investment incentives are in place: under Law 2601/98, golf course investments in Greece are eligible for:

Either: Cash grant 40% / Loan interest subsidy 40% / Leasing subsidy 40% [this incentive is what most investors go for]
Or: Tax allowance 100% / Loan interest subsidy 40% [INVgr: this incentive is not considered to be really very useful for investors]

If you are interested in learning more about the latest investment opportunities related to golf course and resort development, golf real estate projects and residential communities in Greece, please contact us.

Related page (INVgolf):

• Golf courses and resorts in Greece

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Plots of land and residential real estate for sale in Greece

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Office space / storage

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List of selected residential tourism, golf and leisure-integrated real estate investment opportunities in Greece

Please find below a few superb examples of reliable, very well-researched and legally as well as financially-sound golf development, residential tourism and resort investment opportunities in Greece that INV International Ltd. would like to recommend to international investors in the hospitality, leisure, entertainment and real estate sectors:

• PELOPONNESE: West Coast (two international airports nearby)
  PRIVILEGED LAND OVER 250,000 m2, 1,200 m. from an endless sandy beach. According to special legislative regulations, the obtainable percentage of construction coverage may reach 54,000 m2, which makes this land very profitable for the construction of holiday homes and beach resort hotel(s).

• PELOPONNESE: West Coast (two international airports nearby)
  RARE LAND BY THE SEA 42,000 m2 within urban development. Upmarket hotels and villas. A preliminary feasibility study concerning the construction of a hotel complex is available.

• PELOPONNESE: West Coast (two international airports nearby)
  UNIQUE LAND BY THE SEA, 4,500,00 m2 of which 1,200,00 m2 are sandy golden beaches, 2,100,000 m2 of forest and 1,200,000 m2 of untouched area. Multiple interesting possibilities of hospitality/tourist exploitation and development as well as golf courses (there is plenty of water supply) and residential real estate. This part of the Peloponnese is up and coming. Already a number of spa resorts have been developed or are in the pipeline, while several  major golf resort developments in the Messinia and Ilia (close to Ancient Olympia) prefectures are currently in the pipeline. For sale in whole or in part.

• CEPHALONIA: (one international airport nearby)
  SEASIDE LAND of 63,000 m2 with possibility of expansion, near central tourist area ideal for luxury villas, a hotel and holiday homes.

• CORFU (one international airport nearby)
  A BEACH HOTEL COMPLEX of about 250 beds under construction.

• PELION (near Volos) (one international airport nearby)
  SEASIDE LANDS of a) 55,000 m2 plus b) 14,000 m2 adjacent, total 69,000 m2; suitable for tourism exploitation and development. Hotel and holiday villas' preliminary study is available.

• CRETE (two international airports nearby)
  UNIQUE LANDSCAPE of 2,500,000 m2, close to a developed and well-known tourism resort area. The land is suitable for golf courses -- there is plenty of water supply -- holiday villages, hotel(s) and other tourism resort or rural investments.

• SAMOS
  8.2 hectares of slightly inclining coastal land are available for the development of a hotel resort complex. This unexploited plot of land is privately owned and is located near a very popular summer resort with several high-standard tourist rooms. The land, located 20 kilometres from the capital of Samos, is highly accessible. The nearest residential area is Pythagorio.

• SAMOS:
  24.7 hectares of slightly inclining coastal land are available for the development of a hotel resort complex or conference centre. The land facing the sea stretches over 150 metres of sandy beach. This unexploited piece of land belongs to a monastery and is located in the area of Samos visited most by tourists. The land, located 10 kilometres from the capital of Samos, is highly accessible. The nearest residential area is Pythagorio.

In case of interest, please contact us. If you are an INVgr subscriber, we shall furnish you with more detailed information on these unique investment opportunities in Greece.

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Corinth: the new housing hot spot

With a much improved highway and new Athens airport in place, a commute from Corinth to Athens has become not only doable but desirable to a growing number of Athenians, and the Corinth real-estate market is heating up fast

By Peter Terosino

June 9, 2005 -- Thucydides called the Corinthians the wiliest and the most business-savvy of Greeks. Starting this summer, the modern Corinthians will find their ancient talents tested as local property prices take aim for the stratosphere.

"The time to buy in the Corinthia area is now," says Elena Krangoura of the Corinth branch of RE/MAX, an international real-estate brokerage. In the past two years house prices around Corinth and neighbouring spa Loutraki have jumped by an average 35 percent and the pace is quickening.

Startling advances in access to Athens, 80 km. away by road, have been the main fuel for the rising market. Over the past five years the Athens-Corinth highway has been broadened and repaved to modern European standards. Starting this summer, the Proastiakos suburban railway - already a lifesaver for countless Athenian commuters - will begin schedules to Corinth and Loutraki, cutting access time to the capital to less than an hour.

Suddenly, western-style commuting to Athens from a seafront home overlooking, say, the Corinth Canal is no longer a hopeless dream. Thanks also to the Attica Highway connecting Eleusis with the airport, a resident of Corinth or Loutraki can arrive at the check-in desk in about the time it takes for the London tube to trundle from Finsbury Park to Heathrow.

Those with the foresight to have already bought property in the area see their choices vindicated. "In winter you can get easily to Athens or the airport without worrying about interrupted ferry schedules," says Lee Stokes, a Nottingham-based journalist who bought a flat in Loutraki a few years ago and brings his family to it a couple of times a year.

It has been obvious to real-estate developers for some time that Athens, situated on a peninsula, could expand in only two directions - north and west. The construction of the new Athens airport at Spata drove up prices to the east, on the other side of the Mount Hymettos barrier. With prices there already at, or approaching, their peak, the scenic route between Athens and Corinth is now attracting more attention.

The main obstacle to development so far has been the existence of refineries and shipyards lining the polluted coast from Eleusis to Loutropyrgos across the narrow channel from Salamis. If you don't mind waking to the sight of tankers at anchor in the bay, there are opportunities for inexpensive dwellings along the old winding coast road. There's also a large refinery at Agii Theodori, on the approach to Corinth, that had dampened the homes market in that particular stretch.

Demand, say agents, is likely to focus on the southern shore of the Gulf of Corinth on the outskirts of the town. Seaside communities such as Vrahati, Velo and Kiato, and the interstices in between, are available for accessible holiday or regular homes. For years they have been popular for summer rentals. "All that coast area is ripe for growth right now," says RE/MAX's Krangoura.

There remains one major caveat. Tourist and real-estate developers don't like to mention it, but Corinth and Loutraki lie on an especially unstable earthquake fault. The Gulf of Corinth itself is the visible result of a colossal upheaval aeons ago. "Make sure you pick a property built after the mid-1980s" is Stokes' advice to buyers. That's when a tough new anti-earthquake building code took effect, after the 6.6 Richter earthquake of February 1981, whose epicentre lay just west of Loutraki.

So, with the reinforced concrete in place, sit back and enjoy the fun as your property value soars.

Source: Athens News.

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The Cretan property specialist

Sells and rents businesses, houses, land and property in Makriyialos, based in the South-Eastern corner of Crete. Click here for more details. [contact details] [premium content]

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Buying a home in Greece

Thousands of foreigners are making Greece their home or home away from home. For the most part, Germans, Britons and Americans are gobbling up property and building summer homes in Greek holiday destinations. Most of these foreigners are tourists who have visited Greece, the Cycladic Islands and the Peloponnese in particular, and have invested in summer cottages. A large number of others, mainly pensioners, have settled permanently.

According to the National Land Registry, over 2,500 foreigners own property (a total of 3,200 acres) in the coastal Peloponnese prefecture of Laconia. There are also some 1,750 estates in nearby Messinia that are owned by foreigners. Over 2,000 own some 1,250 acres of land in Hania, Crete, and twice as many have snatched up property on the island of Chios.

The National Land Registry figures also show that some 700 estates (520 acres) are owned by foreigners on the Dodecanese Islands of Patmos and Symi, nearly 100 estates (56 acres) on the Cycladic Isles of Milos and Kimolos and over 450 estates (212 acres) on the islands of Corfu, Kefalonia, Zakynthos and Lefkada (Lefkas).

Real estate tips and info for foreigners

Foreigners, by law, can own property in most areas of Greece. Some restrictions, however, apply in border areas (eastern Aegean, Dodecanese Islands, regions of northern Greece, Crete and Rhodes) for non-European Union citizens. In these cases, non-EU citizens must apply to the council of the local prefecture. Some real-estate agents offer assistance with this procedure.

Below are a few general tips and information foreigners should bear in mind when purchasing property in Greece.

* AFM: All buyers, including foreigners and permanent residents abroad, must have a Greek tax roll number (AFM). This is issued by tax offices. It is free and issued on the spot. Greeks and EU citizens must show their ID card. Foreigners living in Greece are required to present their passport or another valid document of identification and their residence permit in order to apply for this number. Greeks and foreigners who permanently reside abroad can also apply for an AFM. They must submit the application to a special tax office located at 18 Lykourgou Street, Omonia.

* 'Pothen esches': Foreigners buying property in Greece must file "origin of wealth" (pothen esches) documents. Anyone who buys property and does not already file income taxes in Greece must do so in the following year to declare the amount spent in purchasing the property, on taxes and other pertinent fees. Proof varies from a bank loan statement to a so-called pink slip in case of a wire transfer of funds from abroad. If the buyer cannot justify the amount of money they have spent, the Greek tax authorities will impute it as unreported income and the buyer will be assessed income tax.

* Transfer tax: The buyer pays the transfer tax. It must be paid before the purchase.

* Property tax: Depending on the value of the property, buyers may also be subject to pay an annual tax. Buyers may qualify for a tax exemption if it is their first home. In general, this exemption applies to both Greek and EU citizens.

* Notary public: A formal notarial deed is required by law in order to purchase property. The notary public fee is borne by the buyer. All real-estate transactions must be carried out before a notary public and must go on public record in the appropriate land registry. The notary public will not authorise any sale without making sure that all the appropriate tax papers and deeds are in order.

* Notary public: A formal notarial deed is required by law in order to purchase property. The notary public fee is borne by the buyer. All real-estate transactions must be carried out before a notary public and must go on public record in the appropriate land registry. The notary public will not authorise any sale without making sure that all the appropriate tax papers and deeds are in order.

* Lawyers: Always recommended. Buyers should always retain an attorney to conduct a proper and thorough title check (at least 20 years). The lawyer representing the buyer carries out this search with the land registry. The sale can be completed only if the lawyer finds the property has a clean title.

* Proxy: Buyers who do not live in Greece may complete the sale through proxy.

* Civil engineers: Buyers should consult a civil engineer to make sure the house or apartment they wish to purchase is structurally sound because Greece is a seismic country.

* Fees: The lawyer and notary public's fees, which are borne by the buyer, are generally about 1-2 percent of the amount listed in the notarial deed of sale.

* Sellers: They are not subject to tax on capital gain from the sale of the real estate. But they are required to present a series of documents in order to sell. Those who have not kept their affairs in order find they have to pay various overdue taxes.

Source: Athens News Directory 2005.

If you wish to buy or sell real estate in Greece or, alternatively, you are involved in a real estate development and are seeking reliable investors or strategic partners for your project, please contact us.

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