For example, the decrease in the number of tourists has significantly reduced the profitability and investment attractiveness of hotels. For instance, discounts on the sale of Greek hotels that are pledged to banks amount to 50–60 percent of their pre-crisis value. So isn't it time to start looking at such greatly discounted assets?
According to our estimates, Greece has ranked approximately 15th in popularity among Russians in recent years. The greatest interest among compatriots is in real estate on Crete, the Halkidiki peninsula, Athens, Thessaloniki, Rhodes, Corfu and other islands. Demand by price segments is as follows: 60 percent – economy class (up to 100,000 euros), 30 percent – business class (from 100,000 to 400,000 euros), 10 percent – luxury (above 400,000 euros).
A Russian who has long dreamed of buying a house or apartment for living specifically in Greece can now benefit from the current situation. Your dream now comes with a big discount. But you must be mentally prepared for the fact that under an unfavorable scenario, the value of the purchased property may drop by another 10–20 percent.
A more attractive type of assets put up for sale are Greek hotels. Since the autumn of 2011, the local tourism industry has faced a significant reduction in tourist flow. Amid a catastrophic drop in revenue, many hotels are going bankrupt and becoming the property of banks, which sell them at a large discount. But caution is needed here: a further fall in the value of your property by roughly half is almost a medical fact. As a result, the purchased hotel (if, of course, the investor does not have a clear strategy to revive tourist flow) will generate losses for several more years.
From our point of view, the optimal places for investment now are countries that, due to the stability of their economies, allow at least preserving the invested capital. Greece does not belong to them. Making investments in the hope of an improvement in the near future is, in our opinion, imprudent.
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