In order to examine Chinese citizens’ demands in Greek real estate market we quote you some statistics coming from their request on a Greek property listing in JUWAI, a real estate platform that addresses to Chinese investors interested in properties abroad.
1. DATA and ASSUMPTIONS
In table 1 below we demonstrate to you all the necessary data coming from our listing and all the necessary assumptions that were taken into consideration so as to help us evaluate the meaning of results.
2. RESULTS
The platform we used (JUWAI) takes over the initial communication between the candidate buyer and the representative of the properties (in this case it is us). The candidate buyer needs to fill a form giving his contact details and some additional information that help him quote his request. All those are translated by the platform in English.
In table 2 we represent to you the results of the key information from the 94 requests we received in 279 days. Each key information is separated accordingly so as to help us examine the results.
Apart from the key information that the platform asks from its visitors, it allows them also to express their needs with more words. Based on this kind of comments table 3 below, presents the most common requests arising from candidate buyers comments that have been collected and exhibited briefly.
3. CONCLUSIONS
There is not much to say when you demonstrate tables because all the results are visible and everyone can draw their own conclusions.
3.1 KEY INFORMATION
The results of table 2 “KEY INFORMATION” are representative and clear since the questions have set more like a questionnaire that guide the visitor. Below we mention some comments and explanations for each one of the key information.
LANGUAGE:
Unluckily even if most of the investors are wealthy and interested in overseas properties only 20.12% of our sample speaks another language and this is English.
BUDGET IN THOUSAND EUROS:
The budget was divided with axis the 250,000 euros since this is the limit for an overseas citizen applies for Greek residency. As it was expected the majority of candidate buyer’s budget is over than this limit (only 6.38% under 250K). This is happening because a basic motivation for Greek real estate market is the residency permit and moreover people who are interested in this kind of purchase are wealthy and desire dispersion of their fortune.
REGION OF INTEREST:
Here the percentages are proportional to the number of properties listing. However it can be observed that the number goes up in the city center. This might be explained because city center sounds as a safer choice for a foreigner or maybe because greatest opportunities exist.
BUYER'S MOTIVATION:
Buyer’s motivation is more likely to be both immigration and investment (38.30%) and second comes immigration motivations with 25.53%. That proves that the golden visa program is successful and proves that is a good tool that can boost the Greek real estate market.
INTERESTED IN A SPECIFIC LISTED PROPERTY:
It was observed that the minority of visitors were interested in specific properties. Only a quarter (25.53%) sent a request for exact listed properties while the rest 74.47% preferred to set its needs, priorities and restrictions. That is normal, as the purchase of a property is a serious investment that needs a lot of money; it is even more complicated when you are looking for a house in another country, where you have no idea about real estate market. Definitely it is less likely for someone to choose a property from pictures and videos, he needs time for research and guidance concerning who he will trust.
3.2 INFORMATION ARISING FROM COMMENTS
Apart from the “KEY INFORMATION”, statistics were also collected from the comments of applicants. Even if each comment’s one wording is different we tried to categorize them according to the applicant’s requests. Only those requests which have been mentioned at least three times have been included in table 3.
After comments processing, it was clear that the candidate buyers are classified into three main categories. Those who want to invest, those who want to immigrate and those who want both.
Candidate buyers interested in property investment ask questions about money return (ROI), location amenities and transport, they have questions about taxes and fees and management services. On the other hand people wanting to immigrate are those who set restrictions regarding property size, ask about international schools, lifestyle nearby property and information about residency. Finally, the greatest category seems to be those who are interested in both investment and immigration. Anything mentioned above is included in their comments plus that they are interested in more than one property.