The southern suburbs of Athens along with Piraeus, more commonly known as the Athenian Riviera, are still foreign investor favorites when it comes to Golden Visa acquisition through property purchase. As minimum threshold regulations have still not gone into action, property values in both the south and north are on the up and up, with cosmopolitan coastal areas such as Glyfada, the municipality of Voula-Varkiza-Vouliagmeni and the more private, lush Filothei-Psichiko seeing increases of up to 42%.
The coastline stretching from Glyfada to Faliron is only just starting to take shape, ten years from its sale to Latsis’ Group Lamda Development for almost €1 billion. The Riviera revamp is an ambitious undertaking, with the Ellinikon smart city of Little Athens including multiple malls, a Hard Rock casino, a marina, schools, sports parks and the largest coastal park in the world, as well as the soaring Foster + Partners Riviera Tower at 200 meters high and 173 luxury apartments, complete with pools and hanging gardens. The plan for the Ellinikon smart city is to welcome guests and residents by the end of 2026.
Based on enacted changes in the entirety of Attica, Thessaloniki, and islands with a permanent population of at least 3,100 residents, the minimum threshold to secure a residence permit has been raised to €800,000. In the rest of the country, the threshold has also increased from 250,000 to €400,000. These changes are expected to come into effect on September 1st, although the end date is fast approaching and the government has yet to make more detailed clarifications regarding the new era of the Greek Golden Visa scheme.
Compared to other European countries, Greece remains fairly affordable for foreign investors, both in terms of property prices and cost of living, even in metropolitan areas such as Athens and Thessaloniki, as well as the islands. Thanks to the Greek economy momentum and the genuine demand for real estate and secondary citizenship options, despite market fluctuations and new provisions from the Greek government, potential investors will likely abandon cautiousness in the future.
image credit: The Ellinikon official site
