The average asking prices “ran” at three times the pace of the country as a whole of residences to Piraeus and its suburbs, during 2023, making the properties located around the country’s largest port, “champions”. According to the relevant analysis data of Spitogatos Insights, during the fourth quarter of 2023, the SPI (Spitogatos Property Index) marked an increase of 11.9% in the whole country, compared to the corresponding period of 2022.
However, in Piraeus and especially in its most popular areas, the increase in asking prices was threefold. Specifically, in Gallipoli – Freattyda area, the average asking price increased by 36.3% in just 12 months, reaching 2,700 euros/sq.m. A huge 36% increase was also seen in Drapetsona.
Overall, the area of Piraeus (center) increased by 23% (2,175 euros/sq.m.), while in the suburbs of Piraeus, the average increase was 25.6% (1,800 euros/sq.m.).
Large increases of 35.2% and 33.3%, respectively, were also recorded in New Psychic (4,145 euros/sq.m.), as well as at Ilion (2,000 euros/sq.m.), a development due not only to demand, but also to the increase in newly built homes available for sale.
But the Piraeus phenomenon has another explanation, and it lies in the changes made last year to the “golden visa” program. The doubling of the minimum investment limit from 250,000 to 500,000 euros in the center of of Athensin the northern and southern suburbs, had the result that the buying and selling by foreigners in these areas (who are also looking for a residence permit) has almost been eliminated, directing all the demand from abroad to very few areas of Attica, such as Piraeus, where the limit was kept at 250,000 euros.
Crowding of foreign investors in Kastella and Pasalimani, as the price of the “golden visa” remains at 250,000 euros.
According to Mr. Alexander Risva, head of the law firm Risvas & Synergates, which is active in the field of investment immigration programs, “in recent months, we have indeed noticed a large shift of our clients to the Piraeus area. However, the investment interest concerns only the good parts of Piraeus, such as Kastella and Pasalimani, and only properties which are either newly built or fully renovated. Nevertheless, we also find that there are excessive demands by some owners for old properties in the suburbs of the city of Piraeus, which are not going to attract investors.”
Accordingly, Mr. Dimitris Melachrinos, CEO of Spitogatos, notes that “the limited supply of real estate, combined with increased demand, both domestic and international, is constantly pushing prices up. In fact, in some areas, such as Piraeus and its suburbs, prices rose at a particularly high rate during the second half of 2023, due to the changes in Golden Visa program».
As Mr. Risvas explains, this is a distortion that has been created in the market due to the exclusion of the greater part of Attica, due to the increase of the investment limit, with the result that all the demand is “crowded” in very few areas, thus creating a ” price inflation’.
It is worth noting that Piraeus has not been a particularly popular spot for Golden Visa buyers in the past, as they preferred areas in the center of Athens, close to the Acropolis, or the southern suburbs, which offer access to the beachfront . These points were also the main “receptors” for investors.
The above facts are also confirmed by the “front” of transfers. In a recent survey by the real estate service provider TOPO GES IKE, which analyzed the data of the Registry of Real Estate Transfers of the General Secretariat of Information Systems, during the first half of 2023 Piraeus emerged as a “protagonist”, noting an increase in the number of residential transactions by 65%. At the same time, the average value of the properties transferred, compared to the corresponding period of 2022, increased by 143%!
Piraeus also stands out in terms of rental prices, as in the Kaminia – Palaia Kokkinia area, the average asking price recorded an increase of 32.2% to 8.8 euros/sq.m., while in the Kallipoli – Freattyda area, the average price reached 10 euros/sq.m., having increased by 24.4% in 12 months. A large increase is also found in Petralona with 24.6% and an average price of 10.9 euros/sq.m.
Luxury homes
Meanwhile, the outlook for the Greek luxury housing market remains particularly positive for 2024, based on relative exhibition by Sotheby’s International Realty, which analyzes the picture of 83 markets internationally. As stated by the president and CEO of Greece Sotheby’s International Realty, Savvas Savvaidis, “the Greek luxury real estate market is in a phase of transformation, attracting a wide and international range of buyers. In particular, it attracts international investors from regions such as Central Europe, Egypt and Australia, opening up new perspectives for the sector.” These are people who, until recently, did not have Greece on the “list” of possible investment countries for the purchase of a luxury residence. An important role for this development is played by the fact that the Greek economy continues to be on the path of recovery, in contrast to the uncertainty that has affected other economies. At the same time, as Mr. Savvaidis pointed out, “the easier access to loans, compared to previous years, is estimated to be an incentive for more buyers to invest in Greece’s luxury properties”. According to Mr. Savvaidis, an emerging trend in the international market is the shift of interested parties to smaller and more usable homes, a development that allows buyers to consider options in some of the less developed areas of the country, as well as islands.
