Greek banks offer mortgages to foreign buyers, often at more competitive rates than abroad. They normally require the following:

For you from us prepared:

Doctors are generally very good and thorough. The vast majority speak English at a good level -if not fluent- and often have some qualifications from Europe or U.S.A.

Hospitals are also good. State hospitals can be crowded, but treatment given is usually good and normally you are seen without much waiting. Private clinics are located in the main towns in Crete, where one can find all the latest equipment, good care and private rooms with good facilities.

Usually you can get appointments or do medical tests within days, free if you have medical insurance or at a low fee if you decide to pay privately. The fee for a private consultation with a doctor or consultant is around €30-40 and you can be seen on the same day.

In order to have free access to any type of treatment and hospital care, with doctors and specialists that operate within the public health system, you will need to be covered by IKA (the Greek national insurance scheme) by having a European Health Card or an E121 form from your country.

If you have a private health insurance you need to check with your provider what exactly is covered. Private health insurance in Greece usually costs less than in Northern Europe.

Drugs also cost less. Some medical wholesalers even buy from Greece regularly to sell them in Northern Europe at higher prices (the so called "parallel imports" phenomenon).

For a comparison of U.K and Greek health systems as seen from a British citizen’s perspective please visit: www.britsincrete.net/healthcare.html

Education is provided for free by the Greek state for every pupil and student, and so are their books.

Schools have continuous tests and examinations to ensure a thorough preparation and understanding of each subject.

There are three foreign-languages as choice (English, French and German) and even at remote areas, school buses are funded by the government to ensure that every kid can and will attend school.

As Christianity and family values are very strong in Greek society, this is also reflected in the schools, where children can still enjoy a safe environment and be free from harm.

Private tuition:

In Chania, one can find from computer lessons, to art, ballet, chess, music, sports (from football to fencing to name but a few) for pupils and students of all ages.

Finally should you wish to complement your kid’s education there are part-time schools organised by ex-pats such as the English and German.

Every European citizen can receive his/her pension in Greece.

Please note that if you are a UK citizen, you will be paid in Greece by Sterling cheque, which is issued via the post to your home address or a bank of your choice.

Alternatively you can have your money paid into any UK bank account.

For more information please click here

Buses:

The network of buses and coaches is well developed. The national road (that stretches between Agios Nikolaos and

Kastelli (Kissamos) is served every hour. Buses run from the north to the south coast every 3-4 hours. The villages are served by buses three to four times per day.

Travelling to and from Crete has never been easier.

From May until mid-October, direct flights operate from the UK, Germany and most Scandinavian cities, flying into either Chania airport, or Heraklion airport. During winter, flying to Crete is usually via Athens airport, with many daily flights.

Charter airlines are increasing their presence in the island. Easy jet has added winter flights to Heraklion and is expected to add Chania in 2009.

This is expected to increase the value of properties, and desirability of reaching Crete further.

Modern and luxurious ferries, sail daily between Souda (Chania) and Piraeus (Athens) during winter, and run multiple daily schedules from April-October.

Athens to Chania/Heraklion.

http://www.olympicairlines.com

www.aegeanair.com

www.athensairways.com

UK to Athens.

UK to Crete

Germany to Crete.

Germany & Austria to Heraklion and Chania

Germany (Cologne/Bonn) to Heraklion ("low-cost" airline)

Germany to Athens.

Italy to Crete.

Italy to Athens.

Ferry transfer: Chania-Pireaus.

Despite a reduction of investment, property prices on the average have not gone down, and preserved their value, at least until fairly recently. Development has gone down, a healthy sign that the global danger of recession is recognised and appreciated. Note however that a reduction will lead to even faster absorption of any existing unsold properties.
Given the global economic climate, comparison with other markets e.g. USA where sales have dropped by 30%, thousands of real estate businesses have closed down, unemployment emerging from this sector has doubled in last two years and repossessions have hit record levels, makes one realise how immune (not invunlerable) real estate in Greece is. 
In summary the Greek housing market proved surprisingly robust and mature.

Buying activity can be highly localised and differentiated even between neighbouring areas. This question can not be answered meaningfully by figures representing broad areas.
In the area of Chania in Crete for example, whereas prices in the Old Town are holding well – a select few have even increased- in the area of Apokoronas prices have taken a blow.
Having said this, in big towns around the country two trends have emerged.
In the first group -characterised by overall stable sales figures- one can find newly build houses and ‘privileged’ resales due to location, view, building quality and even floor in case of apartments.
The second group –characterised by a drop in sales- is made of houses built long time ago, some with low quality of building materials, in saturated or non-desirable areas.
Yields vary between 3-6%.

In North West Crete this is certainly the case as more and more newly built properties are now coming to the market thus creating a more established market.

It is progressing well, of course like any project of that scale, not without its problems.
There are government initiatives being proposed to support the property market. The most interesting ones are Tax deductions and loan guarantees for homebuyers, as recently announced by the Greek government

This year was characterised by an increased presence of Italians and French, and a marked decrease of English buyers. The type of property they look for is on average smaller in price and square meters as compared with the previous years.
Although there is talk of Russian buyers being present we did not experience an increase in Russian buyers.
 

Transport links and competition are both increasing.
Not as fast as it was expected/hoped for this year.
The overall impact it has is of course, easier and more affordable access.
Normally, when accessibility increases, so do property prices.

March 2010

This year, as mentioned in a previous question, buyers went on average  for less meters square (from 100-120 m2 down to 80-100 m2) and less Euros (from 200-250 thousand down to 150-200 thousand Euros).
There is more demand for private villas with space, and at the same time resort communities built around golf courts but unfortunately in Crete this is a rare product.

Eco-tourism and Green construction and building programs are not exactly taking off but they are definitely increasing both in numbers and popularity. 

March 2010

Lending conditions have been highly volatile and are still changing.
Lending to people overseas from Greek Banks is not as easy as it used to be.
Global economic difficulties have certainly decreased availability of finance for Greeks and foreigners alike. Nevertheless, at the risk of over-generalising, a deposit of 30% of the selling price is normally required, and the total of loans a customer can get should not exceed 40% of income.

For clarity's sake, to give an example, on a €100,000 property, a deposit of €30,000 would be asked. If the applicant is earning €10,000 per year, then his mortgage on the property together with any other loan commitments s/he has, should not exceed €4,000 per year.

We have to stress that all the final details depend on the credit worthiness of the applicant. For example, an applicant of  excellent credit worthiness and history can get even a 100% home loan, and the best possible rate (at the time of writing the interest rate is more competitive in Greece than abroad).

If you need further help, we can advise on finance and can obtain finance and mortgage/home loans for you. Please contact us for more details.

The number of agents as well as the number of developers has decreased.
So far the market supported a wide variety of people dealing with property.
It is now far sharper, focussed and competitive.
I believe the consumer is the winner here as increasingly, professionalism and service, is the way to secure new clients.
 

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