Bargains spark life in Greek market

AFTER scrambling to get their money out of Greece as the economy collapsed, Greeks abroad are regaining an appetite for shares and property at home, spurred on by bargain prices and a bet that their country will stay in the eurozone after all.

By The Newsroom

Published 23rd Oct 2012, 10:05 BST

Property investors and agents say interest in real estate has jumped since the summer and there are tentative signs the financial exodus is slowing, according to central bank, stock market and investment flow data.

“There are deals that didn’t make sense but do now as the outside world takes the government more seriously,” said Kostas Kazolides, a London-based investor who has been investing in and advising on property deals in Greece and Cyprus for 35 years.

“People are talking about going back in and buying.

“There are villas in Mykonos going at 30 per cent of their value because sellers are feeling the pinch,” he said.

A 30 per cent fall in construction costs was another attraction.

Fears that investments and bank deposits would be redenominated in a rapidly devaluing new Greek currency if Greece left the euro had put the brakes on international investors buying assets.