| Greece is more than a holiday hot spot | | | | Up and coming is commercial property in |
| providing rental property, take a deeper look | | | | Greece and especially Athens. Buy To Let |
| at the Greek real estate market and you will | | | | property is low priced and can provide a |
| find an exciting investment opportunity. | | | | monthly income. How long prices before for |
| | | | Greek real estate prices join the rest of |
| Think of Greece and you will probably have | | | | Europe is hard to tell. |
| thoughts of hot Greek Islands and cities full | | | | |
| of archaeological sites and monuments. It is | | | | One new phenomenon in Greece is the mall, |
| a visitors paradise so you may be mistaken in | | | | with the first one opened in just 2005 in |
| thinking that investment property in Greece | | | | Thessaloniki. Athens saw its first mall, The |
| would revolve purely around holiday rentals. | | | | Mall Athens, open in October, 2005. The mall |
| It is true that these are in strong demand | | | | is helping to spur development in |
| for overseas investors but Greece has so much | | | | non-traditional areas, such as suburbs and |
| more to offer the savvy real estate investor. | | | | the edges of the large cities. Traditionally, |
| | | | Greeks have focused on downtown and main |
| The Greek real estate market saw a boom in | | | | street shopping areas, which has concentrated |
| the past several years focused on the 2004 | | | | growth in these areas. With the expected |
| Olympic Games and its aftermath in 2005. | | | | development of up to 10 malls in the next few |
| Significant investment went into | | | | years, property investors are starting to |
| infrastructure in Athens and around the | | | | expand their horizons. |
| country for the games, and international | | | | |
| property investors benefited. Since then the | | | | Greece is very popular for holiday travelers |
| property market has stabilized and seen | | | | and resorts. This means that the popular |
| moderate growth in the first part of 2007. | | | | vacation spots are also prime real estate |
| The market is mature and annual property | | | | investment locations. On the western side of |
| returns are estimated to range from 5-10% for | | | | Greece in the Ionion Sea is the island of |
| the next few years, according to the Hellenic | | | | Corfu, one of the most popular locations in |
| Center for Investment. The Greek economy has | | | | Greece for international travelers. There are |
| grown substantially recently, with a 4.3% | | | | a number of resorts with units for sale and |
| growth rate in the GDP in 2006 and just over | | | | rent and there are also plenty of individual |
| 4% for 2007 said the Bank of Greece in its | | | | homes, such as these two. |
| most recent interim report. | | | | |
| | | | The island of Crete is quickly becoming a |
| The real estate market for international | | | | popular place for resort development, |
| investors in Greece is focused on the two | | | | particularly the western end around Chania. |
| major cities, Athens and Thessaloniki, and | | | | The Aegean Sea also has plenty of islands and |
| the major holiday resorts. In the past | | | | resorts places to find an idyllic beach and |
| several years these two cities have seen | | | | vacation home. Rhodes, Samnos, Kos and Andros |
| quite a bit of growth and there are many | | | | are just a few of the hundreds of islands |
| properties available. | | | | where one can find a second home or vacation |
| | | | resort. |