A leading Greek property expert
has advocated changes in the tax regime as well as new licensing regulations in
order to help the recovery of the property market in Greece.
Savvas Savvaidis, President of
the Hellenic Association of Realtors, told the Greek Real Estate Convention in
his keynote address that the recovery of the Greek economy would not be
possible without the recovery of the Greek property market.
Changes to regulations needed to help property in Greece
Mr Savvaidis believes that the
Greek property market does not suffer from a lack of supply, rather that it is
suffering from a lack of demand since the global financial crisis. He told the conference that there is a
wealth of second homes in Greece of varying types and styles which satisfy the
majority of the market demand.
The property guru believes that
the Greek government needs to bring the country in line with other
Mediterranean destinations in order to help the ailing property market. He suggests that the authorities could
stimulate the ââ¬Ësecond homeââ¬â¢ market in Greece through a number of measures
including:
÷
A reduction in tax for foreign investors to 5
per cent
÷
A reduction in VAT on new build properties from
the current level of 23 per cent to 10 per cent (the level of other popular
second home destinations such as Spain and Italy)
÷
Removal of the blanket ban on non-EU residents
buying property in border areas
÷
A licensing system to allow the rental of second
homes to tourists rather than the current system which allows only the rental
of residences that are embedded within new ââ¬Ëmixed developmentsââ¬â¢ which Savvaidis
believes will create serious
distortions in the holiday home real estate market
