# Good time to buy a small farm in Greece?



## BaguetteMan

Hi Everyone,
Please forgive me if this is a naive question. Is this a good time to buy a small farm/smallholding in Greece. I am interested in Corfu or Crete but as yet I haven't done much research. I don't speak Greek so my internet search is restricted to English language websites. I've been to both places several times so have some experience of both Corfu and Crete but only as a visitor. Can anyone offer advice? Also has anyone done this already and if so, what advice can you offer re.finding a property and about the buying process,
Regards,
Mike.


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## wka

Hi Mike, 
I haven't done it myself but I have looked into it a bit. First thing to note is that farmland can be anywhere from dirt cheap to very expensive, and you have selected two of the more expensive areas in Greece. Are you planning to farm on the land? If so, what? If olives, you are looking at a much more expensive investment because the trees will increase the cost significantly. Do you want to build on the land? If so, you'll have to be very careful with the legalities - there are rules about how many square meters per 1000 square meters can be built on - and that varies from plot to plot. But you don't want to end up buying a place that's too small to build a house on if that's your goal. You can also run into issues like you're only allowed to build one structure on the property so you can't have a separate structure to house farm equipment or whatever.

In general, English language real estate sites in Greece are vastly overpriced and limited. You're much better off on the Greek sites just to get an idea of what prices are, but the only realistic option is to come to Greece and search on the ground, with the help of a local real estate agent, ideally one who specializes in farmland (agrotemahia). 

Where I live, we have a number of farms listed for sale for as little as €1/m2. But you really have to talk to the agent or owner to find out what the whole story is. You may buy a place with no electricity or plumbing and have to pay to extend service. 

If you can give more details about what your plans are, maybe we can give more directed advice - do you want land with a house already on it? Do you want to build on the property? Do you want land only, and to live in town? Do you want an established farm with mature olive trees and the like? 

But your basic question seems to be about timing - property prices have gone down in some areas but certainly not all, and certainly not nearly by the amount that the depth of the crisis would suggest. This is unrelated to farms, but just the other day I heard on the news that the housing market in one area in a situation of 80% fewer sales, 30% reduction in prices. If an 80% drop in sales only yields a 30% drop in price, you can see you're not necessarily talking about a "golden opportunity." Some of these places were wildly overpriced to start with and -30% is probably still more than they're really worth. The crisis has NOT led to a massive drop in real estate prices pretty much anywhere in the country.


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## asimenia

Just to add - make very certain that there are no plans to pass any road through your land at any time in the near future as you will pay very highly for the pleasure of losing your land - yes that's correct - YOU will pay! Maybe think about mainland rather than islands for buying land - Epirus is a very green part of Greece with decent rainfall. There are many farmers here - so it will be easier to buy land and equipment - plus it's the mainland easy transportation.


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## BaguetteMan

Thanks wka and asimenia. I'm just starting my research and your comments are really helpful. It will be interesting to see how the political situation developes over the next few months and how (if at all) it affects property availability and prices in Greece. There has been a recent buying frenzy by (wealthy) Greeks in London who see property in the UK as a safer bet than money in a Greek bank ....... Thanks again.


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## BaguetteMan

Hi Pete,
I was trying to send you a private message but it doesn't seem to be an option on your profile, maybe you haven't set it up or something? Could you send me a 'private message' (click on my username Mike313 and choose private message from the drop-down menu) with an 'off-line' e-mail address if possible? Rgds, M.


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## BroganBrown

*Crete*



BaguetteMan said:


> Hi Everyone,
> Please forgive me if this is a naive question. Is this a good time to buy a small farm/smallholding in Greece. I am interested in Corfu or Crete but as yet I haven't done much research. I don't speak Greek so my internet search is restricted to English language websites. I've been to both places several times so have some experience of both Corfu and Crete but only as a visitor. Can anyone offer advice? Also has anyone done this already and if so, what advice can you offer re.finding a property and about the buying process,
> Regards,
> Mike.


Mike, What did you find out about the market in Crete? My family is about to put their house in Crete on the market. Constructed in 2000 ocean view with a 4 acre olive grove. I need to price it to sell. Have any suggestions?

Thank you
Julia


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## BaguetteMan

Hi Julia,
I did do some research last year but that plan has been put on the 'back-burner' temporarily. My research was mostly internet-based and, to generalise, I got the impression that the market was quite depressed. I'm not sure if that is likely to change anytime soon especially with the unemployment problem and the latest round of austerity measures announced by the government. The civil unrest in recent times in Greece has been on TV all over the world and doesn't help in terms of projecting Greece as a good/safe location for ex-pats......
Nevertheless, the property you describe sounds nice (ocean view, olive grove) and these features will obviously help attract a buyer but a realistic price will probably be determined by the local market, what prices are similar houses going for in that area, and how quickly do your family need to sell. 
If your family have lived in Crete, is there a local real esate agent that they trust? Do you have a gut-feeling for a price you must achieve? If you wish you could PM me further details (location, full description, photos) I'm not sure if the forum moderators allow property details to be published on here ...
M.


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## Dimitris_Athens

it is the best period to find a good property at good price.


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## Elpida416

Hi everyone;
I am contemplating of investing in an olive grove somewhere on the mainland, perhaps the Peloponnese area.The goal/purpose is not about making a huge profit, but mainly about the experience, the enjoyment and having an interest and of course investing in real estate. Can anyone offer any advice or suggestions on this kind of investment. What are the pros and cons, the advantages/disadvantages of such an investment. Is this a good idea, is it the right time, what responsibilities and expenses would I encounter.


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## concertina

Elpida416 said:


> Hi everyone;
> I am contemplating of investing in an olive grove somewhere on the mainland, perhaps the Peloponnese area.The goal/purpose is not about making a huge profit, but mainly about the experience, the enjoyment and having an interest and of course investing in real estate. Can anyone offer any advice or suggestions on this kind of investment. What are the pros and cons, the advantages/disadvantages of such an investment. Is this a good idea, is it the right time, what responsibilities and expenses would I encounter.


I think its a wonderful idea that you want to purchase an olive grove because Greece has been loosing its olive groves on a massive scale especially on Crete.Lots of wild flora grow beneath olive trees.A friend of mine (Greek) has a grove on the peloponnese and takes the oil, eventually he wants to return to using the traditional method of using stones to extract the oil.What will you do with the oil?keep it for yourself?
People must remember that with this crisis came new laws for farms-if you make money from any of your land on a commercial business then they want more tax from you,or if you buy an existing farm,even small then they want bigger tax from you,so best I think to buy a few stremers with a small sweet house on it then you can do what you want.There is property tax now so the smaller your house the better,you may have to pay tax on out-buildings as well.Remember you cannot sell your oil unless you are certified and receive a number,and that takes years Im told.But I love your idea,my friend goes down to feed the trees in the winter and once every few years he pays someone with a machine to turn over the land between the trees in the winter.There is a lot to learn about keeping olive trees and I think I would spend some time with someone on a grove watching and helping them bring in the harvest.My next door neighbor where I have a cottage has 3 or 4 olive trees and I noticed this summer that he has a kind of bag hanging up in one of the trees with alive like bug things in it,all moving about,I think it must be one of these natural things you can use to kill pest on the tree.I notice that some years my few olive trees get a fluffy white fungus on them,I refuse to use pesticides so I just shower it off with the garden hose,it seems to go away,so many things to learn for the wonderful Olive Tree


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