Aziz Francis, CEO of investment fund Brook Lane Capital, said that Greece's real estate market is nowhere near overheating amidst concerns that price hikes on Greek residential and commercial assets are excessive as European markets slow.
Speaking at an economic conference in Athens earlier this week, Francis said that ‘tourist investors’ that appeared in Greece as of 2019, when the country exited its economic crisis, are going back to their core market as conditions become more challenging.
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In regards to Greek property prices, the CEO responded to concerns about sharply rising prices saying that there is no overheating and that prices have become distorted due to the crisis.
“We don’t see any heating at all. The property market is at room temperature,” he said, admitting though that assets in Greece are no longer cheap.
Tight supply is contributing to rising prices in the country's housing market as economic growth helps strengthen spending power. In the last few years, residential asset prices have gained some 25 percent but remain well below pre-crisis levels.
Brook Lane Capital has been involved in some of the key deals to take place in Greece in recent years. In 2022, the company announced that it is partnering with Lamda Development in a 200 million euro agreement to jointly develop a mixed use tower in the Hellinikon complex. Additionally, the fund, which is Cyprus-based, has purchased property portfolios from Greek banks and selective commercial assets with local partners.
The investor is upbeat about the long term opportunities arising in the Greek economy as long as there is political stability in the country.
“We have a very strong risk appetite for Greece,” added Francis.