Overseas buyers go back to greece

Photo credit: Adam Balch

Greek property prices continue to fall. Nominal apartment prices are estimated to have declined on average by 7.3 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2014, according to the Bank of Greece, while Knight Frank's latest Global House Price Index ranked the market as the second worst-performing in the world.

Low prices, though, are bringing buyers back to Greece, as bargain hunters from other countries step up their demand.

Overseas investment in Greek property doubled in the first half of 2014 compared to the same six months in 2013, according to new figures from the Bank of Greece. The data, reported by Athens daily newspaper ekathimerini, shows that €117.4 million was invested in Greek real estate between January and June 2014, compared to just €60.3 million in H1 2013.

Interest has showed signs of climbing throughout 2014. Greece climbed up one place to become the 12th most popular destination on TheMoveChannel.com in August, accounting for 1.92 per cent of enquiries. In April 2014, Greece entered the top 10 countries for the first time in seven months, as the country's share of property enquiries on the portal trebled in Q1 2014.

Realtor.com has also seen interest climb in Greek property. Italy was the most searched-for country on the US portal, according to its latest report, followed by Jamaica, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica. While this remained the same as the previous month, Greece entered its top 10 destinations for the first time.

Demand is driven by holiday homes, says ekathimerini, noting that their average value has fallen more than 40 per cent since the financial crisis first struck the struggling economy. Now, though, as tourism fuels a gradual economic improvement, investment is rising: the millions injected into real estate in the first half of 2014 eclipsed the total €113 million invested in the whole of 2012.