Foreign direct investments in the Greek construction industry are rising at a rapid pace, with investments exceeding 1.6 billion euros in the first 9 months of 2023, according to a report by Alpha Bank.
As the analysis notes, in 2022, a 68% surge was reported, with property investments reaching 2 billion euros. The 9-month-term 2023 data marked a 29% uptick compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.
The growing foreign interest in Greece is reflected in the rise of investments in the Greek construction industry which has witnessed a steady uptick from 2020 onward.
Investment in housing was up by 33.7% in 2022 and by 40.2% in the first 9 months of 2023, while other construction sectors recorded a 9.5% and 5.5% rise over the same periods, respectively.
Overall, during the first nine months of 2023, investments in construction approached 84% of the total for 2022, marking an increase of approximately 16% compared to the same period in 2022.
The Gross Value Added (GVA) – a productivity metric measuring the contribution of a company to an economy – of the construction sector has increased at high rates since 2018, except for 2020 due to the pandemic, contributing almost 11% annually during the 2021-2022 period and by 17.2% on an annual basis in the first nine months of 2023 to the economic growth of the country.
Despite the upward trend in residential investments in recent years, they still significantly lag behind the pre-economic crisis era in the country. Additionally, there is a reversal in the mix of construction investments.
Specifically, from 2012 onwards, residential investments account for about 26% of the total construction investments. However, in the first nine months of 2023, there is an increase, with the percentage of residential investments approaching 37% of the total construction investments. In contrast, the corresponding percentage for the period from 1995 to 2011 was 61%.
