NAXOS ISLAND, GREECE

NAXOS ISLAND, GREECE

Population

10.62 million persons

PopulationGrowth

0.210 percent

Land Area

130,800 sq km

Currency & exchange rate

1 Euro = 100 cents

(~ 0.644 GBP)

GDP-PPPMethod

151,392.0 millions of US dollars

GDP Growth

3.88 percent

GDP Per Head

14,250.0 Thousands of US Dollars Per Person

Financial

Interest Rate

Inflation Rate

3.9%

National Bank

Bank of Greece

Political

Greece is a unicameral parliamentary democracy. Executive power rests with the 300-member parliament that is elected for a maximum 4-year term by adult suffrage.

The current Prime Minister, Costas Karamanlis, and his Centre-right New Democracy party won office on 7 March 2004 for the first time since 1993. The President, Nea Dimokratia was elected on the 7^th of March 2004 and is elected for a 5-year term but has no executive powers.

Greece joined NATO in 1952 and the EC (now the EU) in 1981.

Social Security

Yes

Languages

Greek; some speakers of English, French, Turkish, Macedonian, Romanian, Romani, Bulgarian and Albanian

Customaries

The Greeks have a very strong sense of cultural and historical heritage, and a sense of unity prevails. The Greek Orthodox church has a strong part to play on the Greek way of life, especially in the countryside.

Greek bureaucracy is very slow. Persistence and attendance in person at the office or ministry concerned is almost the only way of getting things done. Identification documents and various authorisation letters or seals are necessary.

Smoking is prohibited on public transport and in public buildings. Taking photographs of military installations is an offence and can be dealt with harshly.

Ethnic Make-up

Greek	98.0%
Other	2.0%

Tax

Income Tax

Capital Gains Tax

Taxable income (€)		Tax on lower amount	Rate on excess
Exceeding (€)	Not exceeding (€)	(€)	%
0	7,400	0	0
7,400	8,400	0	5
8,400	13,400	50	15
13,400	23,400	800	30
23,400		3800	40

Non-residents are taxed on their income at the same rate as residents.

Capital gains derived by individuals are generally not taxed.

Description

Traditionally an agricultural producer, accession to the EU stimulated growth in other areas, particularly tourism, shipping, food processing, mining, chemicals, textiles and metal products. Despite this mixed Greek economy with such heavy dependence on tourism and shipping, approximately 20% of the labour force still works in agriculture and farming.

Tourism is the most important service industry with roughly 10 million visitors per year. Much work on improving the infrastructure and transport network has been undertaken prior to the Olympic Games in Greece during summer 2004. It is hoped that such improvements will further improve the tourism in Greece.

It’s major trading partners are the mainly the European countries, namely Germany, Italy, France and the UK. It adopted the Euro on January 1 2002. Outside the EU its major trading partners are Saudi Arabia, Japan and the USA.

Investor Profile:

Cash & Equity Investor

Pension Investor

Holiday Investor

Retirement Investor

Downshifter Investor

Business Investor

Category:

Silver

Population:

Total

British

18,000

< 100

Climate:

Hours of Sunshine Per Day in Summer

Days of Rain Per Year

January

July

Average

Water Temp.

Thirteen

15C

26C

22C

Proximity to:

Airport

Beach

Nearest City

Olympic Airways links Athens with Naxos and the airport is near Ayios Prokopios

Ayia Anna & Plaka

Paros Island

Restaurants and bars:

The main party scene is in the centre Chora, where there are discoteques, bars, piano bars and nightclubs with Greek popular music.

There are eating- places of all kinds: the typically Greek restaurants ("estiatoria'), serving mostly made-up dishes, tavernas which specialise in grilled meats, souvlaki shops, and seaside restaurants that serve fresh fish daily. One should try the local specialities, such as wild rabbit or partridge.

Sports and leisure facilities:

Snorkelling, water sports, jet skiing, windsurfing, boating, diving, trekking

Transport:

Public Transport

Roads

The island can be reached by air from Athens and by ferry from Piraeus and Rafina. Some ferry services Some services go directly to the island and others make previous stops at Paros, Ios, Santorini and Tinos.

Naxos has a good bus system that lets you easily get to the beaches and villages

Cars, bicycles and motorbikes can be hired.

Crime rate:

Low

Main types of employment

Tourism and services.

Future plans:

To maintain the natural beauty of the island whilst improving upon its tourism industry.

Yield range

11 – 16%

Type of property

Entry Price

Rent-

Peak

Rent-

Off Peak

Average Annual Yield

2 bed apartment

£55,000

£800

£700

16%

3 bed apartment

£64,000

£900

£800

16%

3 bed townhouse

£93,000

£1050

£800

11.6%

Detached

£100,000

£1100

£800

11.4%

Demand for letting

Peak

Off peak

Very High

High

Finance and leisure scores:

Total (out of 10)

Financial (out of 5)

Leisure (out of 5)

Flights scheduled from:

London Gatwick, London Luton, Manchester and other major and regional airports (Remember that a connecting flight may be required to Naxos)

Typical cost of flights:

Peak

Off Peak

120 – 200 GBP

80 – 160 GBP

Operators:

Easyjet, Malev, Air France, Greek Airways, British Airways, Lufthansa, Czech Airways, Alitalia

Description:

Being the largest island in the Cyclades, Naxos has a commodity many of its more illustrious neighbours lack - space. Mountains, lush valleys of citrus and olive groves, pastel-coloured coastal plains and wide stretches of empty, golden sand all but envelop the tiny, quaint villages that lie dotted amongst this rich panoply.

You get a great yield and no capital gains tax to pay when you sell. How much capital gain you’ll get over time is unsure. This is why I have only given it a silver rating. Even though the area is very pretty and would make a great holiday home demand for owning property on the island is low. This however is not bourne out by the going property prices, with the entry level greater than £55,000, but there are few properties for sale which keep property prices propped up. Stick to popular areas. Forget any areas more than 250m from the beach.

Hot Website:

http://www.naxosnet.com/

Estate Agents:

Name

Address

Tel

Web

Neon Naxos Realty

Platia Protodikiou Naxos, Cyclades 84300, Greece

(011) 0030-285-26644

www.naxosrealty.com

kthma@nax.forthnet.gr