Medium-term leasing is evolving into the most dynamic trend in the Athens and Thessaloniki property market.
Digital nomads, corporate officials in high-tech industries and other workers able to work remotely are the main clientele of owners who offer their properties for lease for less than a year.
According to Vassilis Argyrakis, co-founder and chief executive at the See Greece property management company, “We have recently seen many owners who opt to lease out their properties for periods of between three and nine months, in areas from Piraeus to Paiania,” he said, referring to various areas in Attica.
Besides digital nomads, this market segment targets workers at companies managing customer services centers; such clientele used to be the privileged field for short-term rentals until recently.
“These companies seek houses for their staff and therefore utilize properties through midterm rentals,” explained Argyrakis at the Premium Real Estate Expo in Athens last week.
Such a solution appears ideal for any assets that are not located in prime locations for short-term rentals, such as central Athens or Koukaki: “What concerns those choosing a midterm stay is good access, high-quality standards (such as a sea view, swimming pool, garden etc.) and having a lower price than the center of Athens,” in Argyrakis’ words.
According to Kosmas Theodoridis, head of the Polis estate agents, “medium-term leasing has even started generating demand as an investment product, as we often see buyers interested in investing in properties to be utilized that way.”
The residential market has generally started to attract the interest even of institutional investors, thanks to its high buying and renting demand. MRICS researcher and chartered surveyor Konstantinos Gatis said one of the housing market’s features is the lack of affordable homes in major cities, as the new trend mainly concerns the development of assets of very high quality within complex developments, such as Piraeus Tower or the renovated Hilton Hotel.
In future, the residential market will also be decisively affected by the management of properties used as collateral for bad loans.
This article was previously published at kathimerini.com.
