Foreign investment in holiday homes nearly doubled in Q1
by Nikos Roussanoglou, ekathimerini.com, 24 June 2015

The flow of funds from abroad destined for the acquisition of properties in Greece – mostly holiday homes – surged 78.6% in the first quarter of this year from Q1 2014, according to data released by the Bank of Greece.

In total, €49.3 million was invested in the Greek property market from abroad, against €27.6 million in the same period last year and €27.5 million in 2013.

That figure indicates the great margin for recovery in the holiday home domain, given that it was recorded during a period when the market conditions were far from ideal due to the change in government and the uncertainty that continues to prevail today. Buyers from abroad invested a total of €250 million in the local home market 2014 as a whole, against €168 million in 2013.

Private construction activity also registered growth in the first few months of 2015.

Data from the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) showed that the volume of new private constructions soared 35.6% in March, against a small annual rise of 4.1% seen in March 2014. This volume increase follows a 36.5% rise reported in February.

In the January-March period there was total annual growth of 29.2% in the volume of new constructions, against a 17% decline recorded in the same period in 2014. There was also a significant increase in the number of new building permits, as they rose 8.7% against a 25% decline registered in the first quarter of last year.

This recovery is attributed to the fact that the first months of the year saw significant investment in nonresidential buildings, such as manufacturing unit extensions, and improvements in farming installations and tourism accommodation.