According to the latest data published by the Bank of Greece on Wednesday, the foreign capital flowing into the country to buy properties in January 2019 showed a staggering increase of 155.7 percent over the same month in 2018.
This comes after a whopping 205.5 percent increase which was recorded one year earlier, in January of 2018, compared with the same month of 2017.
This spectacular boom shows that foreign investors are extraordinarily interested in buying apartments and houses in Greece, as they expect much higher revenues from tourism.
However, apart from the short-term renting industry, the investors are choosing Greece as the country’s economy becomes stronger and more stable after years of financial crisis and instability.
Experts also believe that Greece’s ”Golden Visa” scheme, which allows non-EU citizens to obtain a five-year residency permit in Greece — and thus in the EU — has played a crucial role in the trend.
Thousands of foreigners, especially Chinese, have bought properties in Greece worth more than €250,000 in order to obtain a visa which allows them to travel and live anywhere in the EU for five years.
The Greek Ministry of immigration recently revealed that more than 4,150 Golden Visas have been granted so far.
The Bank of Greece’s data also revealed that for the year 2018, Greece’s foreign capital from real-estate purchases reached the figure of €1.3 billion, something which also could easily show an increase in 2019.
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