New York Times: Refueled interest of foreign investors in Greek real estate
Plus: The impressive 2.875-million-euro villa with nine balconies and a panoramic sea view, which serves as the centerpiece of the report.
- 28/09/2021
A recent New York Times report emphasizes the refueled interest of foreign investors in the Greek real estate market, especially in Athens. This report, which includes statements from several market representatives, focuses on a luxury villa located in Dikastika, Marathonas, on sale for 2.875 million euros.
Golden Visas and retirees
According to the NYT, in recent years, the Greek government has enacted policies designed to keep the market competitive, including the launch of the Golden Visa in 2013 and its 2019 plan to attract foreign retirees and high-net-worth investors. Both programs have helped significantly so that property prices gradually recover from their nadir following the last decade’s debt crisis. “There’s almost a total market recovery from that loss,” said Alexandra Sekouri, the founder of real estate advisory firm Lithos Investment.
The profile of foreign buyers
Foreign buyers in Greece “fall into two main groups,” Ms. Sekouri said. The first are seeking Golden Visas, with most coming from the Middle East, Turkey, Russia and China. Post-Brexit, the Golden Visa program has also attracted British buyers who want access to the EE. The second group includes investors looking for good ROI, like an Airbnb. She also notes that most of them come from Germany, France or Italy.
The villa in Dikastika, Marathonas
The five-story villa, part of the portfolio of Engel & Volkers MMC Greece, is located in Dikastika, Marathonas, about 30 miles northeast of Athens. It was built in 2015 and the 5,920-square-meter property offers sweeping vistas across the Petalioi Gulf from every floor. “It’s a terrific offering on an exceptional property with stunning views,” said Theo Bosdas, sales manager of Engel & Volkers Greece for the Athens Upper North Suburbs area. He noted that this is one of the two or three best properties in the area and added that “a home like this on the Athens Riviera, in the southern suburbs, would go for twice the price.”
The house offers sweeping 270o vistas across the Aegean Sea from every floor. From the road, a sculpted steel gate opens to a short driveway and a three-car garage. The pool is the centerpiece of the outside area and the facade is covered in rough-hewed rock salvaged from the home’s construction. The main bedroom suite occupies the third floor. The is an expansive bathroom and a private staircase that reaches the main bedroom from the pool level. An elevator also services all floors. On the fourth level, a great room has living and dining areas, and a fireplace. The room’s ceiling soars past the fifth floor. An oak spiral staircase, the room’s centerpiece, wraps around a sculpted floor-to-ceiling oak panel.
Off the dining room, the kitchen has a horseshoe-shaped breakfast bar. Just opposite, a covered outdoor lounge area includes a pizza oven and barbecue pit. “Some of the décor is Art Deco-inspired, mixed with these modern elements,” Mr. Bosdas said. The fifth floor, called “the captain’s room,” offers unobstructed sea views and has its own bar and kitchen, fireplace and built-in sofa.
The outdoor landscape is complemented by exotic plants and palm trees, and the nine balconies offer breathtaking vistas to the north, south and east.
What it offers to potential investors
About an hour from the center of Athens, Dikastika (which borders Schinias-Marathon National Park) is “a beautiful area, and the beach is wonderful,” said Yannis Ploumis, managing director of Ploumis Sotiropoulos/Christie’s International Real Estate in Athens, also noting that large convenience stores serve the area of Dikastika. Mr. Bosdas added that hospitals, retail stores and professional services are available in the town of Nea Makri. Athens International Airport (El. Venizelos) is about 25 miles south.
