Hellenic Properties is stepping up its €500m development programme through 2030. Construction is under way on four office buildings in Athens, with a further €40m investment in the pipeline on Syngrou Avenue.
On the construction market, the property developer’s CEO, Errikos Arones, said yesterday that it was «under strain» from rising costs, adding that «we are in a period of hyperinflation in the sector, in the sense that construction costs are rising faster than overall inflation».
«Construction inflation is running at 4% to 5% a year. Cumulatively, it is above 40% over the past four years», he said at a meeting with journalists.
Taking first the effects of the New Building Regulation (NOK), and then the possibility of interest rates rising during 2026, he estimated that construction activity in private-sector projects would decline in the period ahead. Beyond rising costs, however, he sees the market’s biggest problem as the lack of a stable spatial-planning and urban-planning framework for investment.
The development programme
Hellenic Properties is also pursuing a development programme with a total gross development value (GDV) of €500m through 2030. The gross development value of the company’s portfolio currently stands at around €200m.
Hellenic Properties’ business model involves co-developing projects with family offices, which take direct minority stakes in the projects and include, among others, investors from the shipping industry.
As for the different segments of the property market, Mr Arones sees strong prospects in offices and hotels—the asset classes in which Hellenic Properties invests—although they will follow different trajectories.
«Demand for offices remains consistently good. I would say that the market has stabilised at high levels in terms of supply and demand. We are not seeing a price correction, but a decline in transaction volumes», he said.
«I think the wave of upgrades to commercial premises and business expansion in Greece has now reached a plateau. This upward trend has peaked and we are moving into a period of stabilisation, but at high levels», the CEO added.
In the office sector, the company has four projects under way, three in Marousi and one in Tavros, which are expected to be completed in stages by the second quarter of 2027.
A further major project, worth €40m, is planned at 101 Syngrou Avenue. The property is near the Onassis Stegi cultural centre and covers around 10,000 sq m. Plans call for the development of about 195 apartments, ranging in size from 17 to 30 sq m.
It was initially planned as office space, but the plans have since changed and it is now intended for residential use. No decision has yet been made on whether it will comprise student housing, furnished apartments, long-term rentals or a mix of all three.
The CEO also referred to the «grey area» that continues to surround the fast-growing furnished-apartment market, calling for a legislative framework that would allow large institutional investors to invest in complexes of this size.
Hotel activity continues
In the hospitality sector, the market continues to move at a strong pace. A few weeks ago, the company announced its acquisition of Aristi Mountain Resort & Villas in Zagori, as it targets properties in more alternative destinations.
«In hotels, we are also seeing a high volume of transactions, which we expect to increase. We believe the Greek hotel market will continue to develop along two main lines: upgrading existing properties, with domestic players—particularly hoteliers—playing a significant role, and a shift from private to professional ownership. In other words, we will see more platforms, more professional investors and more funds entering Greece’s tourism sector», he said.
The logistics sector is also of great interest to Hellenic Properties, but the CEO noted that it is an area where a number of large developers are already active and that «it is difficult for a new player to enter this space».