It's the end of a golden age. Greece, facing a serious housing crisis, is tightening the screws to limit real estate speculation. The country of thousands of islands tightened the rules for its “golden visa” on Sunday, a residence permit which allows non-European buyers of housing to move more freely within the Schengen area. This system put in place in 2014 is accused of raising prices (+ 14.5% for houses in 2023, + 60% over five years, according to the Central Bank of Greece). From now on, applicants for the golden visa – a majority of Chinese, but also Turks, Lebanese, Americans – will have to pay 800,000 euros, in the most requested areas (around Athens, Thessaloniki, Santorini, Mykonos), against 250,000 euros previously.
Record demand in 2023
That's not all, housing acquired through a golden visa can no longer be rented for short periods, but for the year, in order to restore some oxygen to the rental market.
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We are adopting balanced measures regarding the golden visa program, which take into account the housing needs of households, without forgetting the need to attract investments to the country
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explains the Greek Minister of Finance, Kostis Hatzidakis. According to data from the Ministry of Migration, this program was the subject of record demand in 2023 with 10,214 requests for acquisition or renewal. Last year, Ireland and Portugal also announced their intention to put an end to this system, which sets the price of stone so high.