High construction costs and the housing crisis are pushing the country’s real estate development companies to pursue new business initiatives and test the market.
Both Ten Brinke and Dimand are now targeting middle-income earners through two different approaches.
Ten Brinke is entering a market segment typically dominated by smaller players, focusing on the purchase, renovation, and sale of older apartments.
Recently, it has acquired 25–30 properties in central Athens, starting with Kypseli and Patisia, with the aim of creating value and reselling them.
The developer, whose portfolio includes projects such as the development of a five-story office building in the Elliniko complex and the construction of an 11,000-square-meter data center in Spata, has assembled a team of seven people for this new initiative.
Fotis Gioftsios, CEO of the Dutch firm Ten Brinke in Greece, emphasizes that “the rise in construction costs is extremely concerning. The builder is forced to pass these costs on to someone, and ultimately, it will be the buyer who pays.”
“What do we see? We’re now focusing heavily on luxury housingbecause we see that demand is high. There, the cost doesn’t really matter, because high incomes support it. However, low-income earners are not turning to new-builds because it is no longer cost-effective. It is not cost-effective for the builder, nor for the buyer. “Therefore, the solution is renovation,”he emphasized, speaking yesterday at the 4th Real Estate Conference hosted by Capital.gr and Forbes.
“We see that in the coming years, this product will ultimately be in high demand,” he added.
As for final prices, the goal is for the renovated apartments to range between 200,000 and 250,000 euros.
Social Housing
Meanwhile, Dimand has also set its sights on meeting the housing needs of the middle class through social housing. These are projects intended for more affordable areas of Athens, with a lower profit margin to keep sales prices at affordable levels.
The company recently announced that it is planning such a project on Petrou Ralli Street, comprising a total of 140 apartments.
It will consist of apartments ranging from 65 to 100 square meters— that is, one- to two-bedroom units—and will be offered for rent based on income criteria, with rents up to 600 euros. Currently, the development company is exploring new similar investments in both Keratsini and Faliro, near the Olympiacos stadium.
The properties offered by the government as part of the social compensation program are also of interest to Dimand.
On the sidelines of yesterday’s conference, Dimitris Andriopoulos, CEO of Dimand, noted , “We will review them, read the property listings, and any that make sense as a business plan are naturally of interest to us.”
It should be noted that a few weeks ago, the eight properties of the Public Employment Service (PES) to be made available for the purpose of supporting social housing were published in the Government Gazette.
These properties are located in the Agia Triada area of Paiania, Attica (1), in Agios Thomas, Larissa (3), in the Palmantoura area of the Municipality of Pyrgos, Ilia (1), and in Agios Konstantinos, Kalamata (3).