Total foreign investments in the economy reached €2.8 billion in H1 2025. Of this amount, almost one in three euros (33.4%) was directed to real estate, corresponding to €938.3 million, according to data from the Bank of Greece.
By contrast, during the same period in 2024, 57.8% of total foreign investments flowed into the property market. At the time, real estate attracted €1.14 billion out of €1.97 billion in total foreign capital inflows.
The main driver behind this exceptional performance was a wave of record investments from non-EU investors, who rushed to complete transactions ahead of changes to the Golden Visa program.
These amendments raised the minimum investment threshold from €250,000 (or €500,000 for properties in central Athens and the northern and southern suburbs) to €800,000 for all of Attica, the municipality of Thessaloniki and major islands.
At the same time, 2024 was marked by a broader slowdown in attracting foreign investments overall, a trend that only reversed towards the end of the year with the completion of the landmark acquisition of TERNA Energy by the Masdar Group.
The picture in 2025 is fundamentally different
Already after Q3, even before full real estate data are released, foreign capital inflows into the Greek economy have reached €8.6 billion, marking a historic high. As a result, the share of property investments in total foreign inflows is expected to fall well below the 33.4% recorded in the first half of the year by the time 2025 closes.
A historical look back highlights just how far foreign real estate investment has come. In 2024, inflows reached an all-time high of €2.75 billion, extending the upward trend that began in 2022 (€1.97 billion) and 2023 (€2.13 billion).
Excluding exceptional years such as 2015, when capital controls limited inflows to just €153 million, or 2010, when the sovereign debt crisis erupted and investments fell to a mere €63 million, even the pre-crisis years showed limited momentum.
For example, during the year of the Athens Olympic Games in 2004, foreign investments in real estate amounted to just €80.6 million. The only notable exception was 2007, when inflows reached €308.5 million, partly due to the construction boom at the time. It took a full decade, until 2017, when investments climbed to €414.7 million, to surpass that level.
The recent surge has been driven primarily by the Golden Visa program, as well as by the growing appeal of residential properties for investment use, either through short-term or long-term rentals.
