rReal estate in Attica: Israelis and their affairs

<>

Interest in real estate in Greece, especially in Attica, continues to attract foreign buyers, and it is no coincidence that for the first half of 2023, external capital of around €1.102 billion flowed into the domestic market, resulting in an almost 40% increase compared to the same period last year, according to the latest data from the Bank of the

In light of the military conflict between Israel and Hamas, there are concerns in the real estate market about how Israelis will act in the future, as they are among the most popular foreign property buyers in Greece, especially in Attica. It is too early to draw definitive conclusions, says Mr. Lefteris Potamianos, president of the Attica Association of Realtors. However, he notes that during last week's military clashes, there were two significant real estate contracts in Athens, one with Israel and the other with the Lebanese. One of these contracts, worth millions of euros, concerns the purchase of a plot of land in Neo Cosmos where an apartment building for commercial use will be built. At the same time, negotiations to buy three different properties have been frozen due to the mobilization of Israeli potential buyers. In the medium term, the war could create a new increase in demand for real estate. As Mr. Spiros Papayannakis, CEO of Mapei Hellas, a subsidiary of the Italian building materials giant, recently stated, the military conflict could boost construction activity as Israelis and Lebanese are showing great interest in housing in Cyprus as well as in Greece.

The four leading nationalities

The interests of Israelis are reflected in Spitogatos Insights data regarding housing searches conducted during the third quarter of 2023. In more detail, in the center of Athens, the Americans have the advantage, with the British in second place and the Israelis in third. In the third quarter, the average sale price of housing in central Athens rose 14.4% year-on-year to €2,000 per square meter in 2022. The largest number of requests to buy real estate came from the United States, and regarding the southern suburbs of Athens, where prices in the third quarter, according to Spitogatos, amounted to 3.611 euros per square meter, which is 14% higher than in the third quarter of 2022.

In second place in the southern suburbs of Athens are potential buyers from the UK, with Germans in third place. The same consistency by nationality was recorded in the second quarter of this year. In the Piraeus area, where average house prices are €2,000 per square meter, up 14.7% from the third quarter of 2022, the UK has become the leading market. Buyers from the United States are in second place, and Germans are in third place. As for the suburbs of Piraeus, which recorded some of the largest increases in the average selling price of homes in the third quarter of 2023 compared to the same period last year by +23.2%, Americans showed more interest, with Brits coming in second place. The top 3 are completed by the Germans. In the suburbs of Piraeus, the average housing price for the period July-September 2023 was 1,714 euros per square meter.

It should be noted that RE/MAX Greece, a large network of real estate agencies, recently reported that Israel ranks among the top five most popular nationalities of foreign real estate buyers in Greece, ranking first, followed by China and Germany in second and third place respectively.

"Tribes" of Israeli buyers

based on the available data fall into four different categories. Private investors looking mainly for small apartments with a total value of 100,000 euros fall into the first category. These buyers are mainly interested in the center areas, seeking net annual returns of 5% to 6%, while in Israel, as in other mature markets, returns do not exceed 2-3%. Medium-sized companies from Israel fall into the second category. The budget in this case is between 500,000 and 5 million euros, and they are interested in higher returns of around 13%. Large Israeli companies are investing more than 5 million euros and looking for long-term profits, while the fourth category is real estate agents who come to Greece to expand their portfolio of residential properties they can offer in the Israeli market.