Golden Visa drives prices up
A further rise in the minimum invested amount required for foreigners to obtain a so-called Golden Visa has boosted house sales, especially in Piraeus, the capital Athens’ port.
Starting September 1, the minimum amount to be invested in properties in the center of Athens, the capital’s northern and southern suburbs and the municipalities of Thessaloniki, Mykonos and Santorini, as well as on islands with a population exceeding 3,100, will rise from €500,000 to €800,000. In other areas, it will rise from €250,000 to €400,000. Also, to discourage prospective Golden Visa applicants from buying a series of small properties to meet the criteria, they must buy a single property of an area of at least 120 square meters.
During the second quarter of 2024, from April to June, demand drove average property values in Piraeus up 28.9% from the same period in 2023, to €2,471 per square meter. It is not as expensive as the southern, coastal suburbs of Athens, where the average value has hit €3,750 per square meter, but it is impressive, nonetheless.
Foreign investors like the proximity to the country’s biggest port: It is estimated that acquisitions involving prospective Golden Visa holders will exceed 5,000 this year. The most active investors are Chinese, Arabs and Turks.
Acquiring property will allow foreign investors not only to obtain a five-year residence permit, but will provide them with a significant return on investment, around 4% annually, notes Kosmas Theodoridis, president of the European Real Estate Brokers Association.
Piraeus and its suburbs have seen the biggest rise in rents, notes research by consultants Delfi Partners: In the second quarter of 2024, rents have risen over 14% compared to the same period in 2023, their report says. Most rents range between €8.20 and €10 per square meter.
According to real estate professionals, many of the homes acquired as a means to obtain a Golden Visa remain empty and unused, or are sold again after a few years, without the sellers seeking to renew their visa.
Most profitable resales happened during 2019-20 by owners who had bought cheaply between 2015 and 2017, when the financial crisis, which had erupted in 2010, was still keeping property prices depressed.
