by FSBO 
Are you planning to sell property in Greece to overseas investors? Greece has been going through a turbulent time lately, but there are still a lot of people buying properties there. Greece faces tough competition from the neighbouring Cyprus, which is doing very well at attracting overseas investment.
In fact, if you’re planning to sell property in Cyprus any time soon, you would be happy at the amount of interest this island state has been receiving lately – most of it positive.
Cyprus has none of the hang-ups that Greece has. Most of the financial concerns that investors had about Cyprus for a while have been resolved to a large extent. There are many takers among wealthy foreigners for a residence permit in Cyprus and homes in Cyprus are relatively cheap compared to some of the Greek islands such as Mykonos and Rhodes.
While the Greek islands remain as beautiful as ever, the other places in Greece have suffered because of the economic crisis. Athens has been a mess, and many people have serious problems there, such as joblessness.
Tourists don’t find Athens as much fun as they used to. Cyprus has a single minded focus on tourism, and the government has introduced many measures to encourage tourist activity.
The residential property market there is moving fast towards full recovery with home sales increasing and prices on the rise. Stats from the Department of Lands and Surveys Cyprus indicate that sales have risen by 39% in the last year. The indications for 2018 have been largely positive.
Famagusta has witnessed a major increase in transactions of 174% while the increase has been 98% in Nicosia, 32% in Larnaca, 29% in Limassol and 16% in Paphos.
The number of overseas buyers that have invested in Cyprus has gon up by 130 percent in Famagusta, by 81 percent in Paphos, 70 percent in Nicosia, 60 percent in Limassol and 40 percent in Larnaca. Overall the number of foreign buyers has gone up by 45 percent.
As for Greece, the problems are obvious. A Russian investor who has extensive investments in Greece, George Kachmazov, said in an interview with Bloomberg, “Greece’s real estate market is one of the remaining few in Europe that hasn’t recovered since the 2008 economic crisis.”
Property prices in Greece have gone down by as much as 25 percent since the economic crisis of 2008. Apartment prices in Athens have gone down by 45 percent in the last year, according to the Bank of Greece.
Carrie Law, a property analyst working for a Chinese property portal says, “The belief is that the worst is over and that this is a good time to take advantage of the low prices and to benefit from future capital gains as the market recovers.”
However, George Kachmazov says that home prices in Greece are very reasonable right now. “The country’s residence-for-investment scheme is the best in Europe as it’s cheap at 250,000 euros; property in Greece is cheap; yields for short-term rentals are high, and the country’s growth potential is greater,” he added. This indicates that for the savvy investor, Greece has many opportunities even today.
