Fresh Air Living Index: The Best Countries for Outdoor Enthusiasts to Live. Greece in the 2nd place

From UNESCO sites to air pollution, we pull together the statistics to reveal the best countries in the world for living life in the great outdoors

At Cool Camping we love the great outdoors and, for us, time outside is about much more than just weekend camping holidays. From hiking and biking, to simply getting out into the countryside and exploring new places, we know (and studies have shown) that time outdoors helps us live happier, healthier lives.

This year, we’ve not only been working hard to find the best places to camp, glamp and pitch your tent beneath the stars, but we’ve also dug through the figures and searched the statistics, to find out exactly where you should live if you really want to make the most of nature.

We can now reveal our brand new Fresh Air Living Index, ranking the best places for outdoor enthusiasts to live, 365 days of the year.

Compiled by analysing a variety of factors that we believe any right-minded outdoor enthusiast would find important, our Fresh Air Living Index identifies Continue reading »

Focus on Attica

From the sunny slopes of the Acropolis to the sunny shores of the up and coming Athens Riviera, there is a new buzz around greater Athens these days. Home to almost four million people – more than a third of the population Greece’s largest province, Attica, is resurgent after bearing the brunt of the country’s almost decade long financial crisis. In the past two years in particular, greater Athens has seen a revival in everything from city center night life to hotel development to new hi-tech start-ups.

Development of the Athens Riviera is taking off with the redevelopment of the former Athens airport, a mega-project that Continue reading »

Investing in Greek Tourism

Even as Greece’s summer tourist crowds thin, tourism investors are flocking to Athens to discuss opportunities in the country’s hotels, resorts and marinas.

In October, the Greek capital was the site of two major global conferences – on Mediterranean resorts and hotels, and on marinas confirming the growing interest in Greek tourism properties.

Greece has seen five record years of tourist arrivals and is expected to welcome more than 30 million visitors in 2018. And, according to a recent joint opinion poll by real estate platform Continue reading »

Golden Visa program growing rapidly

Greece’s special Golden Visa investment and residen- cy program has soared since the start of the year, reflecting growing investor confidence in the country after it successfully exited its third financial support program this summer.According to recent data, 3,154 residency permits have been issued under the program through the end of July – more than all of 2017 combined – making Greece’s Golden Visa initiative among the most popu- lar such programs in Europe. Applications are up 40% from a year ago and Enterprise Greece has been helping to promote the program, most recently with its participation at the International Citizenship Investment Property Fair in Cairo.

Launched in 2013 during the depth of Greece’s economic crisis, the Golden Visa program has come to prominence in the past two years amid waves of new investors from China, Russia and Turkey, among other places. Drawn by Greece’s growth prospects, political stability, quality of life and attractive asset prices, the Golden Visa has surpassed other investment and residency schemes in countries like Cyprus or Portugal.

The program grants a permanent residence permit – and access to 26 Schengen-area countries to individuals and their families who invest a minimum of €250,000 in fixed assets, such as real estate, in Greece. The program was recently amended to include investments of €400,000 or more in liquid financial assets as well. Golden Visa permit holders have invested an estimated €1.5 billion in Greek assets so far.

sourceenterprice greece

News in Brief

Growth Prospects

Greek think tank IOBE sees economic growth accelerating to 2.1% this year from an estimated 1.3% rate in 2017. The estimate is broadly in line with the official Greek government and Europe- an Commission forecasts, both of which see GDP growing at a 2.5% rate this year. Greece’s revised 2017 GDP data is due to be released in early March.

Tesla Greece

Leading U.S. electric automobile manufacturer Tesla is setting up an R&D facility in Greece to tap local scientific expertise in electric motor technology. The facility is expected to employ Continue reading »

A new project in Ermioni, Argolis

In collaboration with Loci Architects we are to develop a new resident house. Our clients are foreigners…

Tourism in the Peloponnese gains momentum

Tourism in the Peloponnese is gaining momentum, which is driven by the area’s upgraded infrastructure, the development of thematic travel products and promotional activities run by regional authorities.

Kalamata City, Photo: mythicalpeloponnese.gr

Ermionida, Argolis Photo: G.Ktizein

More specifically, the area was recently included among the 50 best places to travel in 2018 by the Travel+Leisure Magazine, along with Buenos Aires in Argentina, Marrakesh in Morocco and the Fiji Islands. Continue reading »

Housing Market Prospects

Domestic demand for housing is expected to be sluggish, since: (i) household disposable income is not expected to increase significantly in the near future; (ii) the unemployment rate is forecast to remain in double digit figure until 2030 (according to the European Commission, the 2015 Ageing Report, January 2017); and (iii) the extraordinary tax imposed on real estate property looks set to become permanent.

Given that domestic demand for housing is not expected to recover soon, it is worth exploring the potential demand originating from abroad.

Chart 22 shows that, in terms of value, housing in Greece is attractive compared to other Mediterranean countries though not to South – eastern European ones. However, according to the Global Property Guide, rental yields remain moderate and are lower than those in neighbouring countries such as Romania , Bulgaria and Cyprus.

In order to attract foreign investors, Greece offers a residence permit (valid for five years with the possibility of renewal) to non – Europe an citizens who buy a house worth more than €250,000 . In addition, in 2010 the real estate transfer tax was reduced from 10% to 3% on the property’s fair value. The above incentives resulted in partially revamping residential investment interest in 2016, with FDI for residential property increasing to €250 million from €186 million in 2015.

Overall, the recovery of the housing market in Greece is largely related to improving the investment climate and reducing tax burdens . Still, given that domestic demand for housing is expected to remain subdued, residential investment is not expected to support GDP growth to the degree it did before the economic crisis. At the same time, any demand for housing coming from abroad is directly related to the restoration of confidence in the economy.

source:
part Alpha Bank/greece economic and financial outlook

Buying Greek Property

Foreign demand for Greek real estate is soaring as overseas investors are drawn by attractive asset prices and amid signs the Greek real estate market has bottomed out after years of decline. Data show that foreign investment in Greek property has more than doubled since last year to well over €1 billion euros, while property-linked residency visas issued under Greece’s Golden Visa program are up by a third and recently surpassed 2,000 in total. The vast majority of foreigners are buying properties in and around Athens, say industry sources, with investors coming from China, Turkey, Russia, Israel, Egypt, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates. After falling by as much as 50% from their pre-crisis peak, Greek property prices have now stabilized, data show.

Source: National Bank of Greece
(https://www.nbg.gr/greek/the-group/press-office/e-spot/reports/Documents)

Record year for Greek tourism

Greek tourism is set for another record
year in 2017 with the country on track to welcome 30 million visitors. In the last three years, Greece has seen a sharp increase in investment in its tourism industry, which accounts for roughly a sixth of the economy and last year brought in more than €13 billion in
revenue.

Over the next three to five years, more
than €4 billion are expected to be invested in approximately 200 tourism related projects around the country. “For 2017, the first signs of the market are positive,” according to a recent National Bank of Greece report, which estimates that the country needs some €22 billion in tourism-related investments over the next
five years.

TARGETED TOURISM INVESTMENT COULD INCREASE RECEIPTS BY 40% OVER 5 YEARS

+¤1.2 Bln in HOTELS
annually for 5 years

+¤3.3 Bln in INFRASTRUCTURE
annually for 5 years

+5.5 Mln TOURISTS
annually after investment

+¤5 Bln in RECEIPTS
annually after investment

Source: National Bank of Greece

(https://goo.gl/TgoxhC)

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