‘Israelis Scanning the Greek Property Market’ is the title of the latest article (October 28th, 2018) from major newspaper Eleftheros Typos, on the increasing interest in Greek real estate from foreign investors. Unlike Chinese and Turkish property buyers who are primarily seeking the Golden Visa via property purchases of over EUR 250,000, Israeli investors are here for business. “Their target is the immediate exploitation of short-term rental platforms, by investing in apartments in areas such as Pagkrati, Kolonaki, Hilton and Koukaki” explains Themistoklis-Andreas Bakas, President of the Greek network of real-estate agents E-Real Estates. “In addition, they seek buildings close to universities, with funds of over EUR 1.8 million available for the development of student accommodation, but also properties suitable for hotels and boutique hotels, with funds of up to EUR 4 million.”
In the same article, reinforcing Bakas’ views, Daniel Yakovee, founder of Fractal Property Development, declares that his Israeli clients “have invested in different categories of property, primarily apartments, but also with major investments over EUR 10 million imminent. In Athens, we most commonly – although not exclusively – invest in the better, more stable areas of the centre with immediate profit, such as Pagkrati, and less in the depressed areas which have the potential to be more profitable in the long-run such as Kipseli.”
One of Fractal’s clients states that “we are interested in apartments and small apartment buildings in the centre of the city, in lower value neighbourhoods such as Kipseli, Exarcheia, Metaxourgeio, areas in which you can still find cheap properties.” His aim is to purchase at extremely low prices with relatively high yields and wait as long it takes for those neighbourhoods to increase in value. “Despite the risk involved with investing in these areas, we will profit in the long run because in my opinion, there will be a revival in all the areas in the centre of the capital, as is common in other capital cities around the world, especially with the phenomenon of gentrification. Areas that are abandoned and dangerous in Athens today will be tomorrow’s most attractive areas, especially considering their superior architecture as they were once the city’s most aristocratic neighbourhoods.”
When asked on the difficulties facing foreign investors, Daniel Yakovee of Fractal replied that “the repelling factors are primarily the lack of stability of the taxation system, and the delays involved in settling legal disputes. Then you have the notorious Greek clientelism and its consequences, with the delays facing the major redevelopment of the old international airport at Elliniko a particularly painful example. And of course, the lack of technology and efficiency in the public sector services, for example to retrieve old blueprints you need to wait up to one month to develop them from microfilms where they are currently stored, instead of simply downloading a digital version from a modern online system.”