Athens more appealing to property investors
by Nikos Roussanoglou, ekathimerini.com, 14 January 2015

Athens ranks fifth out of 28 European city destinations for real estate investment in 2015, according to this year’s annual survey by the Urban Land Institute (ULI). Berlin tops the list, followed by Dublin, Madrid and Hamburg.

The Greek capital leapt from 28th position last year, as sector professionals expect it to be a magnet for property investments even though the local market is still only beginning to recover. Still, the survey was conducted in November 2014, before the onset of political uncertainty brought about by the early elections.

Despite the timing, the head of ULI in Greece and Cyprus, George Kaburopulos, argued that Athens' rise to fifth spot constitutes evidence of the potential that the local market holds for attracting foreign investors, "as long as we secure a stable political and social environment corresponding to the high position that the Athens market can have on international level."

On a 1-5 scale, with 5 denoting full marks, the Athens property market received 3.71 regarding its attractiveness as a destination for property acquisitions and 3.07 for its capacity for property development.