Messinia: a hotspot for investments

Messinia is the latest area that has become of interest to investors and developers in Greece. Messinia is located in the southwest of the Peloponnese, which is home to some of the most important and impressive ancient sites in Greece. The climate is usually mild and green in winter and it is not too hot in summer. Messinia has an abundance of exceptional natural beauty and more than 100 km of coastline, with some of the best and cleanest beaches in all of Greece.

Messinia offers many larger plots of urbanized land and there are many investment opportunities. Particular attention is paid to the Finikounda, Methoni and Pylos areas.

Why the interest in Messinia?

Interest has grown largely because the Government is actively encouraging investment in Greece with new laws aimed at stimulating local revenues. Messinia is one of the largest areas to benefit from these plans.

The private sector has also shown great interest in Messinia and has been buying a large parcel of land for the development of vacation rental units. It is estimated that during the next 3 years only Finikounda will have accommodation for more than 2000 tourists. Therefore, it is easy to understand the current interest in Messinia.

* Golf tourism developments in Messinia:

Petros Doukas, Deputy Minister of National Economy and Dimitris Avramopoulos, Finance and Minister of Tourism are eager to see more golf opportunities. Messinia has directly benefited from his campaign and consent has been given for the planning of 7 new golf courses in the area. All courses will be half an hour apart. There will be 2 18-hole championship golf courses at Pylos and Romanou, as well as 5 other smaller 9-hole golf courses nearby. Construction of the championship courses is already underway and their opening is scheduled for spring 2008. This will bring in an international clientele throughout the year. Studies have shown that more than 200,000 visitors to Greece annually are potential golf tourists. It is easy to understand the current interest in developing this high-end attraction in one of the most attractive climates in the world.

* New road plans for Messinia:

In addition, and in accordance with the government guidelines for the “Good Roads Plan”, a new highway is being built from Tropoli to Kalamata and is almost complete. This will increase accessibility from Athens, directing traffic to the Messinia area and the commercial port of Kalamata. Currently, the trip from Athens takes 3.5 hours, but the new highway will reduce this time to less than 3 hours. Another new main road between Kalamata and Methoni is planned further opening up the area.

* New Marine planned for Velika:

Kalamata currently has one of the best and largest seafarers in all of Greece. Many people choose to moor their yachts here for the winter. This has two effects for Messinia. First of all, these people often buy houses to live in for the winter. Second, Kalamata Marine has more business than it can handle. Therefore, there is a new luxury and marine housing development planned for Velika, which is located between Kalamata and Petalidi.

* The city of Kalamata:

Kalamata has its own airport approximately 6 km from the city which provides direct access to visitors to Messinia. There are also regular trains and express buses directly to Athens and connections to Athens airport. The city of Kalamata is the main city in the southern Peloponnese. It has all the modern facilities that you would expect to find, such as hospitals, doctors, schools, banks, theaters, cinemas, gyms, sports facilities, hotels, restaurants, bars, the main shops, etc.

All in all, Messinia is set to become the next boom area and is already a favorite with foreigners buying holiday homes and second homes. Therefore, property prices in this area are increasing rapidly.

Who is buying a property in Messinia

Every year, thousands of foreigners choose Greece as a destination to buy properties for permanent homes or as second homes for their holidays. These people are mostly British, German and American, although more and more foreigners such as Canadians, Dutch, Czechoslovaks, Austrians, etc. appear. Despite property prices in the Kalamata area increasing 30 percent last year, which is above the national average of 10 to 15 percent. Foreigners are still buying property to sell. Most foreigners looking for properties for sale have previously visited Greece as holiday tourists on the Peloponnese peninsula. A large number of pensioners have settled in and brought houses to live permanently. However, we increasingly see younger couples or those with young families buying property, settling down, and making a new life for themselves.

Government facts and figures for Messinia

According to the National Land Registry of Greece, there are some 1,750 properties and estates in Messinia that are owned by foreigners. There are already many Brits with holiday homes on the Mani Peninsula, where the government is now discouraging further development. However, relatively few have ventured as far as the Messina Peninsula, so the government is actively encouraging new developments here to stimulate foreign investors and home buyers.

Government incentives

The government is allowing large parcels of agricultural land to be turned over to tourism, making it a desirable long-term investment. The house can be built on such plots and rented for 7 years, providing a substantial rental income. After which they can be sold individually to recover capital. Then additional income can be obtained from the management of the facilities.

Other investment and development opportunities

* Great land: Large parcels of land are being handed over for the development of entire villages. Finikounda alone is expected to have more than 2000 tourist beds in the next three years. The tourist developments will include houses and facilities such as shops, restaurants, bars, swimming pools, thalassotherapy centers, tennis clubs, etc. Holidays or second homes will be sold and provided for the growing number of foreigners looking for a property in the Messinia area. Finikounda, Methoni and Pylos are proving to be a favorite vacation home hotspot for foreign buyers.

* Hotels: Another investment opportunity is to buy land that would allow for a hotel permit. With the opening of 4 new international golf courses in the area, this is a potential gold mine.

Messinia, an investment gold mine

Now is the perfect time for entrepreneurs to consider Greece as a place of investment. Investment properties are available in Messinia. They are in the most magnificent places with exceptional and unobstructed views that have to be seen to be believed. The Government is actively promoting economic growth in Messinia through new legislation. It is also increasing local infrastructure and allowing new developments to stimulate income and employment in the area. Investors can enter the ground level and take advantage of the already proven foreign buyer market that is heading for a boom period. This translates into unprecedented opportunities that will pay off.