Goldman Sachs Latest to Invest in Greek Real Estate, Tourism

Credit: Greek Reporter

American multinational Goldman Sachs is set to join other foreign companies that have been investing in Greek real estate which is booming.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the American company will initially invest approximately 150 to 200 million euros in three seaside resorts in Halkidiki, northern Greece.

The resorts are now closed, but their renovation will start when the investment decision is finally approved by Greek authorities.

From the Athens Riviera to the islands of the Aegean, from the island of Crete to northern Greece, new landmark projects are buoying the country’s property market and underscoring the strong investment interest in Greek real estate.

Foreign investment in the sector recorded an all-time high in 2022. According to data from the Bank of Greece, 1.975 billion euros flowed into the local realty market from abroad last year.

That was 68% higher than in 2021 when the corresponding amount had not exceeded €1.17 billion. At the same time, the performance of 2022 surpassed by 37% the previous record set in 2019, when foreign investments had reached €1.45 billion.

The country has become one of the leading destinations for real estate investors in Europe and is seeing across-the-board interest in every segment of the market.

In the last few weeks, Greece’s Lamda Development reported record sales of more than €200 million for its luxury residences at its flagship Hellinikon project along the Athens Riviera.

On the north shore of Crete, Greece’s privatization agency this month signed the official contract for the €200 million redevelopment of a former U.S. military base just east of Heraklion.

In May luxury hotel operator Domes is set to open its fourth Greek resort in the north of the country – one of two that it plans to open this year in Greece.

Prices for Greek real estate skyrocket

The boom in real estate has also pushed prices much higher. According to Greek property ads website Spitogatos the Aegean Islands had the highest average asking price per square meter across all subtypes, reaching 2,885 euros/sqm.

Following closely behind was Attica at 2,593 euros/sqm, with the Ionian Islands and Crete taking third and fourth place at 2,216 and 1,931 euros/sqm, respectively.

Cyclades, which is part of the Aegean islands, is placed among the areas with the highest average asking sale price of residential properties for sale, while almost half of the top twenty cases for 2022 are in Attica.

The type of residential property seems to have an impact on the average asking price.

For example, the average asking price for a villa in Attica in 2022 was €3,274/sqm, while in Crete it was €2,531/sqm. The average asking price without classification by property type was €2,593/sqm in Attica and €2,885/sqm in the Aegean Islands.

The available listings analyzed by type of residential properties shows that the regions that rank highest during 2022 had some of the highest rates of villas compared to other types of properties.

For example, the Ionian Islands, where semi-detached constituted the largest portion of available residential properties for sale in 2022 at 46% and villas at 29%.

The average asking price for the year 2022 was €2,216 per square meter, which positioned the Ionian Islands in third place among the various geographical regions.

Similarly, available properties for sale in the Aegean Islands in 2022 included villas at 29% and semi-detached houses at 48%, with other categories following with lowest rates.

On the other hand, in Macedonia, the availability of villas, semi-detached, and apartments was more or less close, with 30%, 29%, and 35%, respectively, compared to other cases, Spitogatos notes in its analysis.