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It is true that the current unpleasant events that take place, are going to overturn the optimism we had for the Greek real estate market, especially for the first half of 2020.

Many economists are afraid of a new global economic recession, even bigger from this of 2008. A tell-tale sign is a drop in the crude oil price.

For the economy of our country, before the new coronavirus outbreak and the COVID-19 pandemic, there were anticipations for growth about 2.2%-2.8%. After the onset of the virus, these scenarios are totally overturned as it is estimated that depression of approximately 10%-15% will occur. These numbers correspond to approximately 30 billion euros that will be lost from our country’s GDP.

At these critical moments, over 3 billion people from 70 different countries around the world are in home detention. This fact causes dysfunctions in both their consumption habits and their daily work, and therefore to the entire global economy.

According to the Bank of Greece in the early months of 2020, the prices of real estate will remain stable and possibly in some cases are going to have a slight drop depending on future developments. There are estimations that the tenants will not be able to pay both their residential rents and their professional leases.

It is a fact that since the onset of the pandemic, there has been a significant decline in demand in the domestic real estate market, in particular for foreign investors. This is rational if we consider that we will probably face a new global economic recession. A striking example is the Chinese, who constitute approximately 70% of the investors in the Greek real estate market, who under these circumstances make no investments in the local market. Certainly, the same is true for the investors of the rest of the world. It is important to mention that the Chinese had the intention to invest about 800 million in our real estate market with the aid of the Golden Visa program this year, according to the Association of Chinese Investors.

It has been a great shock for the tourism sector in Greece and obviously in our region Chania as well, while no estimations can be made on how this will evolve in the future. So far, the government’s decision is the closure of all the hotel units in Greece until 30/04/2020, which might be extended depending on future developments.

It is a fact that the real estate market is directly affected by the financial results of the tourism sector and the investments in this area.

On 18/03/2020, the Greek government announced a series of measures to boost the Greek economy. Concerning the real estate market, the measures taken are:

• For the months of March and April, companies that are closed by government decision will pay 60% of their rent to their landlords. The same applies to people who work in these companies since it concerns their main residence.
• The new fair values will be in effect from the next year, thus this year occupiers will pay the same amount of ENFIA as they did last year.
• Housing allowance for beneficiaries of the "Housing and Work for the Homeless" program after their displacement from this program. The application will be submitted electronically and will be valid if there is still the danger of COVID-19 spreading, for a period not exceeding 6 months from the date of entry into force of the ALC.

The momentous situation that we live in now is rapidly evolving with unpredictable consequences. We can assume that Crete, due to its geographical location and the high capabilities of the National Health System, will face this storm efficiently, being a centerpiece for the future as well.

With optimism, calmness, and careful steps, we face today's difficulties and hope soon to regain our health.

 In the meantime, "STAY HOME".

The images used in the text above are from www.pngtree.com