GRE specializes in real estate entrepreneurship and development in Greece.
In light of the deep economic crisis that Greece has been experiencing recently, the geopolitical change in the Middle East, and the extreme increase in real estate prices in Israel, the company sees a historic window of opportunity in which it shares its clients .
Our team combines experts from both countries with whose help you can best achieve your goals .
“GRE” is the oldest company in Israel and has been operating for over 15 years in the construction of projects in Greece.
For the company “GRE” Experts who will accompany you throughout the entire process. Realtors, lawyers, architects, contracting engineers, insurance companies and management companies who will provide all your needs during project planning, before and after the purchase, and will ensure that the decisions you make are the best and most correct for you. .
Under the “GRE” umbrella is a tourism company that sends over 5,000 tourists a year to Greece and helps its clients rent their properties, all managed under one roof.
The company’s flag carries values such as professionalism, listening, trust, thinking ability, and experience and leveraged relationships with all necessary professionals .
The company provides personal attention to each of its clients, close support, and the most intelligent and wise service in everything related to buying real estate in Greece –
As an Israeli citizen .
Project development, yielding investments, hotels, villas, apartments, complexes, private lands, private islands and business development are just part of what the company has to offer – while listening to the client’s requirements and desires .
The company exclusively markets hotels, villas and attractions on the island of Lefkada and its surroundings in Israel and provides tourist support in renting your property if necessary .
The company owns a hotel on the island of Lefkada, which was built as one of a large number of projects .
We will be happy to add you to our customer list and accompany you all the way to realizing your dream.
From an article in Calcalist (October 2011):
For the full article, click here.
Greece
Real estate prices in Greece have indeed been declining for the past three years, but anyone who tries to look for a bargain in sought-after locations such as the islands of Santorini, Crete or Mykonos will certainly be disappointed to discover properties that do not fall below 8,000 euros per square meter and can even climb to around 20,000 euros per square meter. Prices for these properties have indeed fallen by around 40% in the past three years, and local real estate professionals estimate that purchases in these areas will become profitable as soon as the market returns to normal; but many investors currently prefer to look for cheaper options in places that are under development, for higher improvement potential.
Idan Saroussi, an Israeli businessman who owns GRE, a real estate brokerage and consulting company in Greece, arrived in Greece from London three years ago in an attempt to find land to build a hotel. The search also included land in Israel, but he quickly realized that real estate prices in the country were already out of his reach. The search for cheap land brought him to the island of Lefkada in western Greece in the Ephesus region. The island is a five-hour drive from the Athens airport, and is even connected to the mainland by a bridge so that it can be reached by car. The island also attracts wealthy people because of its location on an ancient shipping route.
According to Saroussi, the island has many advantages, such as the Porto Katsiki beach, which is considered one of the most beautiful beaches in Europe, and even brought the Rothschild family to invest in a project in the area. Despite the many advantages of the area, real estate prices there are very low compared to prices on the better-known islands in Greece. “We sell old houses for prices ranging from 45 to 100 thousand euros and new houses for 150-200 thousand euros. There is also land here that is intended for building hotels for around 140-150 thousand euros per 2 dunams. These are prices that cannot be talked about in Israel at all. The place is in a development boom, but I believe that in a few years the prices here will be monstrous, and it will be impossible to obtain land at all,” he says.
Saroussi believes that prices are on the way up, but it is not certain that this will convince the skeptical Israeli investor in light of the news coming from the Greek economy. Konstantinos Rokophilos, owner of the construction company Paleros Development, will come to Israel with Saroussi in order to compete for the Israeli investor’s pocket. According to Rokophilos, the Greek real estate market currently consists of two markets: the local residential market, which is intended for Greek customers and is concentrated in large cities such as Athens; and the investor market, which mainly includes vacation apartments on the islands and in locations near the sea.
Rokophilos adds: “I would not recommend a foreign investor to purchase a property in Athens, for example, because prices may continue to fall and the return from renting an apartment to a Greek will be very low. On the other hand, in the vacation rental market, the rules of the game are different. It is true that in Mykonos or other islands, properties have also fallen by about 40%, but in the area where I am building in the Ionian Islands, the properties have not yet realized their potential and prices cannot fall,” he says.
Where do most buyers come from?
Rokophilos: “Mainly from Europe – Holland, England and Italy. There are also Americans and Scots. Most of them are preparing a retirement home for themselves that they can go to after age 65. Some of them are interested in renting it out during the year when they are not there, and this yields them a nice annual return of about 8%. But it is seasonal, it doesn’t work like that all year round.”
Why did you choose to come to Israel now?
“European markets are fluctuating and Israel is a good, new market. I also believe that this is a good opportunity for the Israeli investor.”
Do banks give mortgages to foreign investors?
“Not today. I believe that by the end of 2011, after the haircut that the Greek banks will undergo, they will have European management. There will be a new situation here, maybe Deutsche Bank will buy one of the Greek banks, who knows what will happen. In the current situation, the banks are unable to give mortgages, but it is possible that the new situation will actually be in the investors’ favor.”
What dangers should an Israeli investor beware of?
“The property needs to be thoroughly checked by a local lawyer. There have been cases where people bought 60 square meters and actually received a 50 square meter apartment. Today, this can no longer happen because there are new laws that protect the buyer, and an engineer who signs a fake certificate can be fined 100,000 euros and even lose his license.”
