Chinese investors are taking the largest slice of the Athens property market among foreign investors who are taking advantage of the Golden Visa Greece scheme.
Greek golden visa scheme was launched in 2013 to help the European country to recover from economic collapse after the debt crisis in 2009.
Through the scheme, foreign property buyers are granted a renewable five-year residency visa in return for an investment in real estate for a maximum of about $285,000. The scheme does not require for a minimum stay and children up to the age of 20 are included I the family application. As long as the property investment is retained, the visa is valid for five years and can be renewed every five years. Home buyers are not necessarily living in Greece for them to retains and renew their investor visa.
Greece has issued 3,404 residency permits since 2013. Of these, Chinese nearly makes up 1,700 of the property investors, Reuters reported citing data from investment agency Enterprise Greece.
That number is about to increase this year as inquiries about the Golden Visa Greece doubled in the first quarter of 2018 and tripled in the second quarter according to Carrie Law, chief executive of the Chinese website for global real estate, Juwai.com.
While the majority of the Chinese property investors in Greece flocked in the country for its low prices and the chance to get a visa to travel within the European Union, there are others who find a genuine love for the country.
Lian Wenmin, a former accountant based in Beijing told Reuters she can buy two apartments in Greece for the price of $285,000 while she can only buy one in China. Ultimately though, she is considering buying a house in central Athens because she loves the country's warm climate, people, and the people in general.
Chinese and foreign investors are scouting properties in the country at a rate of three times a week and this movement has pushed the real estate market in the country. From 2016, foreign investment in Greek properties increased 91 percent. At the same time, taxes from property sales climbed to 41 percent a year from January to July this year.
Meanwhile, the European, Greek, and Chinese central banks are warning about suspicious transactions that might be at play behind the Golden Visa Greece scheme.
The Greece supreme court has already ordered an investigation into suspected illegal payments made through credit and debit cards to process payments under the investor visa. The law states that payments under the golden visa scheme should only be made via bank transfers and not through bank terminals.
