Surprisingly for a country as popular as Greece, the potential for growth in the property market is still huge. Membership in the EU has done nothing but good for the economy, and a foreign policy geared towards acceptance of outside investors does nothing but encourage growth of the foreign investors market. Couple this with a booming tourist trade and ever-increasing numbers of visitors – numbers which make up around 15 percent of the country’s economy – and there are more than enough reasons for an off plan investor to consider Greece. The country has been on the front foot growth-wise for a few years, thanks mainly to the 2004 Athens Olympics and the strengthening of the city’s infrastructure which is still having a positive effect on the Greek economy – growing by around four percent each year over the last few years. Even though the country is so undeniably popular, property prices are by no means restrictive, especially when compared to countries like Spain and Portugal – this is because up until recently laws on foreign buyers of Greek property were extremely strict, meaning the foreign market is still in a relative infancy. Now is an ideal time to invest.

Athens is the most populated city in Greece and the most popular with tourists, meaning that property is not as cheap as elsewhere. Even so, there is always the odd town house or old barn waiting to be snapped up by the budding developer, and there are more likely than not a fair few gems that have been overlooked in the capital. Popular islands like Rhodes – officially the sunniest place in Europe – or Crete are also higher in price than less popular regions. But with 169 inhabited islands and a vast mainland to explore, Greece certainly offers a wealth of opportunity for the off plan buyer, and with 300 days of sunshine a year (on average, at least) there’s a lot of good weather in which to find some property pearls. A history of growth – property prices have grown annually by 10-15 percent over the last few years, an ever-growing tourist trade, one of the lowest living costs in Europe and a simpler buying process for the foreign investor, encouraged by the policies of the government – what more reasons does the off plan investor need?