Three Days In Athens: What The La Vida Team Is Seeing On The Ground

Interest in the Greece Golden Visa has picked up sharply on our website this year, and our sales team has just spent three days in Athens seeing the latest from the market first hand.

During the trip, the team caught up with several of our long-term partners, viewed the progress of projects under construction, inspected recently completed developments and visited new developments in up-and-coming areas.

They came back with an up-to-date view of where current opportunity sit, how quickly the best properties are moving and why Athens remains one of the most exciting places to invest in Europe.

“We see clear interest in Greece from people on our website, and being on the ground you can see exactly why,” said Jessica Hewitt, Marketing Executive at La Vida. “The recent transfer tax announcement has generated even more interest.”

The enquiries we see come from investors who want EU residency backed by a property with room to grow, and Athens fits that brief. The Greek government’s plan to raise transfer tax for non-EU buyers from 3.09% to 15%, currently expected from July 2027, has added urgency, with many buyers now looking to complete before the change.

Here’s what the team took away from the trip.

The Regeneration Is Real, And There’s More To Come

The pace of change across the capital was clear throughout the visit. Regeneration in Athens reaches well beyond housing, with investment going into metro lines, streets and public spaces, green areas and wider neighbourhood improvements.

Golden Visa investment has a strong track record of helping to regenerate cities, with Lisbon the clearest example in Europe. The same momentum is building in Athens.

“Athens is showing clear signs of regeneration, presenting a timely investment opportunity for Golden Visa buyers,” said Lizzie Edwards, Head of Marketing at La Vida.

Athens is a city midway through its transformation. Renovated buildings sit alongside ones still waiting for investment, and new transport links are still being built, which means much of the uplift from that work is yet to arrive.

For investors, that’s the sweet spot. Buying while the change is under way gives them the chance to benefit as each project completes, rather than paying a premium for it in the future.

Paul Mandrinos, Senior Consultant at La Vida, is a Greek citizen and said the mood on the ground had changed markedly since he was younger. “You can feel the energy and the transformation in the city. There’s a lot of positivity about the future, and that wasn’t the case in Greece 10 or 20 years ago.”

Paul’s perspective carries weight because he knows the country from the inside. The confidence he describes goes beyond property, with businesses opening, visitors arriving in record numbers and Greeks themselves talking about the future with an optimism that was hard to find a generation ago.

That sense of momentum is one of the strongest signals an investor can look for. Markets tend to move when confidence returns, and in Athens it’s clearly returning.

Richard Jacks, Senior Consultant at La Vida, was struck by the investment going into the city. “You can see how much infrastructure and investment is going into Athens. Meeting the developers, you could see how much positivity there is on the ground.”

For Richard, the pipeline of new projects was particularly encouraging. Developers are continuing to commit significant investment to Athens, giving our clients another useful indication of how the market is developing and where future opportunities may emerge.

Where We’d Point Clients Now

Most of the Athens projects that qualify under the €250,000 framework are typically located in areas such as Piraeus, Kallithea and Omonia, and walking around those areas was a central part of the trip. These neighbourhoods offer some of the strongest potential for capital appreciation in the city today.

All three are established, well-connected parts of Athens that are still on the way up. In Piraeus, older buildings near the port are being converted into modern apartments. Kallithea offers a lived-in neighbourhood between the centre and the coast, with a deep pool of long-term tenants. Around Omonia, former offices and commercial buildings are being turned into contemporary homes in the heart of the city.

These commercial-to-residential conversions give investors an accessible entry point in areas where the regeneration story still has a long way to run. Our Athens property market article sets out the full picture on prices, tiers and infrastructure.

The Best Stock Doesn’t Wait

The team’s time in Athens showed what happens once regeneration takes hold. Eileen Redmond, Senior Consultant at La Vida, said that’s exactly why investors shouldn’t wait.

”I was impressed by how quickly certain developments are selling, Several medium sized developments we saw sold out in a matter of months following launch, cementing the importance of acting fast when you see a good opportunity.”

Completed Projects Show What Clients Are Buying

Revisiting completed developments alongside those still under construction was one of the most rewarding parts of the trip.

“It was great to see some of the completed developments that I helped clients invest in several years ago, and to see how those projects have come to life,” said Jessica Brill, Senior Consultant at La Vida. “Visiting the newer developments under construction was equally valuable. As I walked around each project, I could immediately picture the type of client it would suit and why.”

Seeing earlier investments finished and occupied brings huge satisfaction to our team. It shows the quality our partners deliver and how those neighbourhoods have developed since our clients first invested.

It also helps with the next generation of projects. Every client comes to us with different goals, whether that’s steady rental income, a holiday base or a future home, and Jessica’s experience of how past projects turned out shapes which new ones she recommends to each of them.

The area around a property matters as much as the property itself. Transport links, local amenities and how a neighbourhood is changing all shape both day-to-day living and long-term value.

That local knowledge is what clients rely on when they’re buying from overseas. Most of them purchase without visiting, so they rely on advisers who know the ground well.

Lukas Harries, Senior Consultant at La Vida, said regular time in Athens keeps that knowledge current.

“We already know these developments and locations well, but being on the ground gives you the most up-to-date perspective. Seeing the latest construction progress, revisiting the surrounding areas and speaking directly with our partners means we can give clients current, first-hand insight alongside the knowledge we already have. It helps us make sure the opportunities we recommend continue to be the right fit for each client.”

For clients, that means every recommendation is backed by both long experience of the market and a fresh view of how each project is progressing. It gives them confidence that the property they choose today is still the right one for their goals.

Close Partnerships On The Ground

Edwina Keyser, Senior Consultant at La Vida, said the trip was a chance to strengthen relationships that are already central to how we work in Greece.

“We’re in contact with our Greek partners every week over calls and Zoom, but catching up in person in their home city is always valuable,” she said. “It strengthens an already close working relationship and gives us an even better understanding of what is happening on the ground, which ultimately helps us ensure our clients’ transactions run as smoothly and seamlessly as possible.”

Those relationships make a real difference to clients. A property purchase involves developers, lawyers, notaries and banks, and working with partners we know well keeps every stage moving efficiently.

Edwina also noted how welcoming Athens is to international investors, with English widely spoken and a culture that genuinely invites investment and tourism. That makes the process straightforward for clients, whether they plan to spend time in the city or simply hold their investment from abroad.

Why Work With La Vida In Greece

La Vida has worked with the Greece Golden Visa since the Program was introduced in 2013. As one of the largest firms in the industry, we’ve built a wide network of long-standing developer and legal relationships in Greece.

We aren’t tied to a single developer. Our advisers know the market first hand and can give clear advice on who to work with and which property fits your goals, whether you want a passive investment or a home you plan to live in. Every developer we work with must have a proven track record and pass La Vida’s own vetting process before we approve them as a partner.

We also have a native Greek speaker in the company, which helps at every stage of the purchase and application.

Round-Up

Our latest visit to Athens reinforced a view we have held for some time. The city still has significant potential ahead as an investment destination, with regeneration transforming neighbourhoods like Piraeus, Kallithea and Omonia, and investors who buy now are positioned to benefit as that change continues.

“Greece has always been a popular choice with our clients, with the Program attracting around 9,000 Golden Visa applicants a year,” said Rebecca Williams, Senior Consultant at La Vida. “Spending time in Athens last week reinforced exactly why that demand continues. There is a real sense of momentum in the city and still significant investment potential ahead. Combine that with the benefits of securing a second residency in an EU country, and it’s easy to understand why Greece continues to attract international investors.”

That demand shows no sign of slowing, and with the planned transfer tax change approaching, now is the ideal time to start your application. To find out which Athens projects could work for you, get in touch with La Vida’s expert advisers.

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