Until the end of August 2023, the purchase and sale of holiday homes by foreigners in Greece have already exceeded the total of 2022, with the houses that have been bought being at clearly higher prices, in double digits, since the average purchase price is higher by 12.5% compared to 2022.
Based on the data collected by the Greek company Elxis, based in Utrecht in the Netherlands, it appears that most buyers purchase holiday homes worth between 250,000 and 500,000 euros, depending on each property's size, specifications and location, reported New Money.
The greatest interest comes from German-speaking countries, namely Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and the Netherlands and Belgium. The share of expatriate holiday home buyers is also important, responsible for more than 1 in 10 purchases.
According to the company providing real estate and legal services in Greece with offices in Thessaloniki, Crete and Utrecht, by the end of the year, 25% more holiday homes are expected to be sold compared to 2022, while the total value of the transactions is estimated that it will "climb" by 45%.
This is due both to the fact that more holiday homes have been sold and to the fact that the average sale price is higher than last year. Until mid-October, the average sale price of holiday homes made available through the network was 12.5% higher than last year.
In contrast, during the same period, i.e. from the beginning of 2023 until mid-October, the number of properties sold was already 17.9% higher compared to the whole of 2022.
"Thus, already, the total value of the transactions has increased by 33%, and there are still more than two months left until it is completed in 2023," said Giorgos Gavriilidis, managing director of Elxis.
As he reported, as of the end of August this year, the company had sold the same number of holiday homes that it had sold in the whole of 2022, utilising the network of cooperating construction companies, which it has developed in various regions of Greece.
More expensive houses
As found in the Elxis analysis, there was a shift in buying interest after the spring to more expensive and quality constructions.
“This is because conditions in many European property markets have become unfavourable for most buyers. Thus, many prefer to buy a quality and modern residence in Greece, a market that is one of the few that continues to have an upward trend," according to Gavriilidis.
For example, buying a parking space in the centre of Amsterdam costs up to 250,000 euros, while purchasing holiday homes in the Netherlands, made from containers, costs up to 300,000 euros. Country houses with corresponding specifications to those bought in Greece have come to cost 600,000 euros.
“These prices are a deterrent even for people from Northern and Western Europe, especially since the cost of borrowing has skyrocketed," Gavriilidis continued.
"Thus, they prefer to invest in Greece, and this has now expanded as an option among people who, until a few years ago, preferred other areas for such moves, such as Spain and the French Riviera.
"Now, many buyers from abroad prefer to stay in the rental in the country where they live permanently, but buy a private residence in Greece."
This trend is estimated to continue in the coming years, creating positive prospects for the future of the domestic holiday home market.
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