Number of foreign buyers jumps
More and more foreign buyers are turning to the more affordable holiday properties they can find in Greece, compared to their countries of origin.
According to a survey carried out by Elxis, which specializes in the sale and management of holiday homes, from January 2023 until mid-October, 18% more holiday homes have been sold compared to the whole of 2022. At the same time, the average sale price is 12.5% higher than last year.
Therefore the total value of transactions carried out through the company is 33% higher and while there is still more than two months left before the end of 2023. According to Elxis estimates, 2023 is expected to finish with a total annual increase of 25% based on the number of holiday homes to be sold and 45% based on their value. This means that more, and more expensive properties will be sold than in 2022.
As Giorgos Gavriilidis, managing director of Elxis, explains, “the cost of a holiday home in the Netherlands, a market we closely monitor since our company is based in Utrecht, has now come to 600,000 euros. A property of the same quality in Greece costs about half the money, making it an important lure for foreign buyers. The fact that prices in the Greek market continue to rise acts as another advantage.”
This is also the reason why, according to Elxis, from this spring onward there has been a significant increase in purchases of holiday homes by foreigners (compared to 2022), but also an increase in their preference for more and more expensive and quality assets. Buyers evaluate these properties, which are newly built, with a private pool and a modern aesthetic and certainly high energy efficiency, as a significant investment opportunity, especially when comparing prices with their country of origin.
According to Gavriilidis, “although in countries such as Germany and the Netherlands sales prices are falling, they are still much higher than prices in Greece, where a modern country house can be sold for €250,000-300,000 instead. Now we even see purchases at higher prices, up to €500,000,” says Gavriilidis.
