With a focus on the urban regeneration of Hellinikon, the largest in Europe which is in full progress gathering the interest of the domestic and international investment community as well as other major regenerations, a significant number of residential projects are underway both in the wider area of the capital and in urban centers.
What are the opportunities for growth in the real estate sector in the Greek market? What are the dimensions and what are the most important factors for choosing an area for a residential project that make it an investment opportunity?
The gap in the Greek real estate market – The big investments
According to Alexios Vandoros, managing director of Wealth Avenue PLC, listed on the Cyprus Stock Exchange and active in the Greek market, there is a gap in the Greek market in residential developments involving investments from 1 to 10 million euros.
They are the ones that local micro-builders can’t deal with because they don’t have the liquidity and the big players don’t include them in their business plans. Depending on the region, the answer to the size of residential developments is different.
Other needs and infrastructure exist in cities in the region, others in Thessaloniki – Patras – Heraklion and completely different per municipality in Athens. This is why knowledge, experience and a special team of partners are needed to evaluate each potential investment.
What are the factors for choosing an area – What is evaluated
The most important factor in choosing an area for residential projects is the location of the property-plot. This has to do either with the distance from important means of transport or with important road junctions, as well as with factors such as the distance from the sea. At the same time, data such as the purchase price or the consideration rate are evaluated, in order to make the investment an investment “opportunity”, according to Mr. Vandoros.
An important factor for the selection of a property, as well as its location, is the potential demand it may have from foreign buyers and this is achieved through the close cooperation that the company has with partner companies abroad.
The research conducted by Wealth Avenue PLC, in collaboration with experts in the real estate industry, around the domestic demand for long-term rental by area or the special cases such as proximity to universities, hospitals, etc.
Real Estate – Prices and “Wallets”
Depending on the area, there are the corresponding sales prices per square meter and based on this they are aimed at citizens of specific income categories. And there is no “one size fits all” answer to this, as in a regional municipality of Athens, newly built apartments can be sold for 2,500 euros/sqm and an 80-acre apartment costs 200,000 euros, while at the same time in the southern suburbs they can be sold for 6,000 euros/sqm minimum and an 80-year-old to cost half a million euros.
What is observed is that the banks have started to lend again and this is positive. They lend with a minimum equity for the individual at 30%, usually which is healthy so that we don’t have the phenomena of two decades ago again, Mr. Vandoros estimates. However, mentioning that this also limits the majority of young people who, due to the long-term economic crisis, do not have the necessary money saved to be able to enter the lending process.
Today and after the crisis of more than ten years, most buildings are implemented with an architectural study, while in the past each owner erected a building without the assistance of professionals and with the main goal of quick profit.
Aesthetics now play an important role, as well as the quality of construction and the energy class of the buildings. New technologies are now a given in most new constructions and not a luxury item.
The most important thing is that the majority of new buildings are designed by architects, they have a certain aesthetic and morphology.
Source: APE – MEB
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