Airbnb

Airbnb is a popular way for cash-strapped Greeks to supplement their income. Many Athenians have rented their homes to tourists and other visitors for short stays through the website. In fact, it has become so lucrative to do so that it has become much harder to find apartments in the center of the capital for traditional long-term leasing.

The luxury property market in Bulgaria is moderately high during the first quarter of 2018, according to an analysis by the consulting firm Unique Estates.

Greece is in urgent need of new investment in the office property market, as the shortage of quality modern buildings becomes increasingly evident, sector professionals told the 13th RED Business Forum on Tuesday in Athens.

"I can't" was never part of Esma Ali's vocabulary. The law school graduate and mother of three worked at the regional authority of Izmir and survived two months in jail there as part of the regime's purge of the public administration in the wake of the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey, before fleeing to Greece across the Evros River border with her children.

Tourism is breathing new life into Athens's beleaguered commercial triangle - the area encompassed by Syntagma, Omonia and Monastiraki squares - as the share of shuttered shops has dropped below 25 percent for the first time since September 2012, when the Hellenic Confederation of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (ESSE) started the relevant survey.

Short-term property rentals through online platforms such as Airbnb can under certain conditions be exempt from value-added tax, according to a circular issued by the Independent Authority for Public Revenue.

The first tangible signs of recovery in the Greek housing market were recorded last year, according to the latest survey by the RE/MAX Hellas network of estate agents, which showed prices had risen 1 percent on average compared to 2016.

Capital inflows from abroad for property acquisitions in Greece reached a historic high last year, with estimates putting the total amount at 503 million euros.

Bulgaria's minister of tourism, Nikolina Angelkova, says it is time the EU started regulating online accommodation platforms like Airbnb and Booking.com.

Over 40 per cent of Bulgarian hotels listed in booking.com are not registered with the Ministry of Tourism, Angelkova complained last Wednesday after the ministerial meeting.

The Greek answer to Bitcoin is Gene, created by the ParkGene company, and is trading on the online market with relative success.