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Greece is an attractive country on the Mediterranean coast, with a long history and rich culture. In this EU country, the program for obtaining a residence permit when purchasing real estate continues to operate. You can invest funds to generate income, but it will not be large. In addition, it is worth knowing about the peculiarities of the real estate market and the restrictions imposed in this state.
Golden Visa Programhas been operating in Greece since 2013. To obtain a residence permit, you need to invest at least 250 thousand euros in real estate, securities, and business. Greece Golden Visa provides the right to a five-year residence permit with the right to extension. Since 2020, investors have been allowed not to visit Greece and complete all documents remotely. Knowledge of the language is not required to obtain a residence permit, nor is permanent residence in the country required.
Starting 2022, rules for Russians have been tightened. Citizens of the Russian Federation cannot take part in the program after the introduction of restrictions related to military operations on the territory of Ukraine. Some people get around this ban by having a second passport, that is, in fact, the transaction is executed for a citizen of another country – not Russia.
New restrictions have appeared in Greece in 2023on the purchase of real estate, which already concern all foreigners. The country’s authorities explained that this was done to stop rising prices and affordability for local residents. The minimum requirements for real estate investment have been increased from 250,000 euros to 500,000 in dozens of areas, including Athens, Thessaloniki, Santorini, Mykonos, that is, the most popular areas. In many locations the rate remained the same. Before the changes were introduced, more than 40% of Golden Visa applications were for properties in Athens. There are other directions for investment, we list them all below:
purchase of real estate – 250,000 – 500,000 euros depending on the territory;
10-year lease agreement with hotel or tourist establishment – € 250,000;
alternative investment fund specializing in Greek real estate – € 400,00;
Greek government bonds with a maturity of at least three years – € 400,000;
shares and bonds traded on the Greek markets – € 400,000;
a fund that deals with Greek shares, corporate and government bonds – € 400,000;
corporate or government bonds traded on Greek regulated markets – € 800,000.
There was a transition period until the end of 2023. “Golden visas” continued to be issued under the same conditions to investors who paid a 10% deposit before August 1 and completed the transaction before December 31, 2023. The new rules are now in full force.
Advantages of a Greek residence permit for an investor:
opportunity to reside in the country;
free movement within the EU, a 90-day stay in any EU state is allowed;
family members can also obtain a residence permit;
the right to open a bank account in an EU country;
income from rental or subsequent sale.
It is worth considering that in 2023, real estate prices in Greece were growing rapidly. The Global Property Guide agency reported that in the first quarter, housing prices rose by 15.32% year on year, in the second – by 14.14%. In December, experts noted in the publication Ekathimerini that owners cannot sell properties at inflated rates. The gap between the offer price and the amount of actual sales varied from 15% to 25%. This problem turned out to be especially serious in the old housing stock, where sellers set the price of 30-40-year-old apartments at almost the same level as for new buildings.
The average cost of housing in Greece, according to various sources, fluctuates in Athens at 2,000-3,600 euros per square meter, in Thessaloniki – up to 3,000, Piraeus – 1,700-2,000. To these costs you need to add taxes and fees:
VAT – 24%, when purchasing housing for which a building permit has been issued or occupied after January 1, 2006. In 2020-2022, a decree was issued according to which new apartments can be purchased without VAT;
transfer of property – 3.9% of the cadastral value or the purchase price.
Additional costs for a notary, real estate agent, lawyer and registration will also be required.
Foreign home buyers in Greece account for 80-85% of transactions; investors from Israel and Turkey have begun to invest more often. This can be explained in the first case by higher prices and low rental yields of 2-3%. In Turkey, the authorities have introduced a lot of restrictions, increased fees and taxes, and kept the limit on increasing long-term rents from 25%. Owners of short-term rental properties are required to obtain neighbors’ consent and register.
At the same time, profits from housing in Greece are also low. Experts estimate rental yields in this country at only 5%. This is higher than Germany (3.5%), Czech Republic (3.9%), Finland (4.4%), France and Bulgaria (4.5%), but significantly lower than Colombia (7.70%), Ireland (8.38%). And Georgia continues to lead in terms of rental yield, where it exceeds 9% on average and reaches 20% for some properties.
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