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Boom of new building permits in Athens and islands
The Greek real estate market expects a boom of new building permits in the coming years, as a result of the 24% VAT suspension measure on newly constructed buildings, the economic recovery and the buying interest by international funds.
In this context, the most licenses will concern high demand areas, such as the southern suburbs and central Athens, mainly around neighborhoods near tourist attractions.
Significant construction activity is also planned for the suburbs where new subway stations will be built, as well as for the high tourist areas, such as the Cyclades, Crete, Rhodes, Corfu and Halkidiki, for example.
Meanwhile, according to August data, the course of construction activity is showing signs of accelerating. As reported by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), 1,300 building permits were issued in August. During the same period, private building activity increased by 28.3% in the number of building permits, by 35.3% in surface area and by 37.8% in volume. Among the regions with the strongest activity, are Attica with almost 80% and Southern Aegean (Cyclades) with 70%.