Athens takes a huge leap in property investor preferences

The appeal of the Greek property market, as reflected in the increase in competition among interested institutional investors, is expected to grow in the future, especially if the country’s economic recovery continues.

A PricewaterhouseCoopers report this year for the Urban Land Institute, recording investment prospects in the global property market, has placed Athens 15 places higher in the European chart than last year: It has climbed from 29th to 14th spot in one year. That is the best position the Greek capital has secured in this chart since 2015, when it had climbed to fifth spot. In the years that followed Athens was always positioned in one of the lowest spots.

This year’s report notes that the emergence of the Greek economy from the bailout programs and the country’s return to the money markets are positive developments that will gradually favor the property market too, as long as this is combined with an increase in the economic growth rate.

According to one of the investors who analyzed Greece, this is an emerging market with a hard currency, which has gone through a difficult period and still has a long way to go before it can be said to have recovered. “In a sense, the hard currency is an advantage, as it offers investors a certain stability and confidence. On the other hand, it does not allow the economy to find its new balance.”

In this context investors appear optimistic regarding the office market too, as it is expected to offer the best prospects for capital gains and rental rate growth. Several investors actually point out that the opportunities in the market mostly concern the sector of new office building development, because there is a major shortage in modern spaces, given that supply has been minimal in this niche over the last few years.