In a report published by the Greek Reporter, it was said that Foreign investors and buyers are hysterically looking for properties on the Greek islands of Santorini and Mykonos, driving the real estate demand to an all-time high. Even so, investors cannot consider Greece as a good place to safely invest their money. The source says that acquiring a holiday home in Greece can be a real opportunity for those interested in buying a residence. In this case, the risk is limited.
Another source however says, "Declining incomes, zero mortgage financing, an oversupply real estate property, have crashed the Greek real estate market, therefore saying that Greek real estate is a buyer's market is an understatement"
The source has also said that according to IMF's Global House Watch survey, since 2007, Greek property depreciation (40%) can only be compared to that of Latvia (45%) and Ukraine (70%). Furthermore Greek real estate is further depressed due to the introduction of a new property tax that is pegged on 2008 real estate "objective" market prices. In this scheme, home owners must pay tax on property valuated in 2008 prices, on the basis of 2015 incomes. Moreover, they have to pay rent income tax, which could amount up to 40% of the total income.
Having said that the source tells that homes cannot be sold by owners that cannot pay their ownership taxes or, even if they can, the sale is likely to fetch well below the loan that was taken out to buy it in the first place. It was said that real estate can in many ways be seen as a life time trap, unless you are buying it cheap. Moreover, the New Europe notes that some distress funds - known as vulture funds - were indeed attracted by the possibility of Grexit and the adoption of a national currency, which would contribute to a deeper devaluation
