Investment in commercial property soars
NIKOS ROUSSANOGLOU, ekathimerini.com, 28 September 2017

Investment in the domestic professional property market is expected to reach close to half a billion euros this year, which - if confirmed - would signal a rise of more than 80 percent from last year, when the figure remained under 250 million euros.

Forecasts to date for the commercial real estate sector predict that 2017 will see the first year-on-year increase recorded since 2014, when 900 million euros was invested in the market.

According to Giorgos Veinoglou, head of research at the Savills property service company, the increased availability of quality properties, such as through auctions, has led to a considerable uptick in transactions. "This year we are also seeing great demand in the hospitality sector, which is confirmed by transactions in hotel properties," notes Veinoglou.

The first half of the year was rather quiet due to concerns regarding the second bailout review, with investment in commercial real estate amounting to 135 million euros. Once the review was completed in June, demand and supply started growing considerably.