Rates boost local holiday pads
The sharp and large increase in the European Central Bank interest rates is developing into a strategic advantage for the Greek holiday home market: It has made potential buyers focus on markets such as Greece, where it is still possible to acquire a holiday home without needing a bank loan.
According to a relevant analysis by Elxis, a Greek company that specializes in this market and is based in the Netherlands, the new trend is resulting in a steady increase in buying interest for holiday homes in Greece.
“After the increase in interest rates, we see that among our customers the desire for bank loans, in the context of acquiring a holiday home, has frozen. This has happened because the interest rate of the loan, amounting to 4-5%, essentially nullifies the return that an investor can have from the exploitation of the holiday home he buys,” explains Giorgos Gavriilidis, managing director of Elxis. The fact that prices in Greece are lower compared to the majority of other markets works in the country’s favor.
Also, there is the fact that in Greece the average selling price of a newly built holiday home hovers around 300,000-350,000 euros, making it ideal for European investors, something that has begun to be noticed by an increasing mass of prospective buyers.
“There is great value in holiday homes in Greece, as for a low amount, compared to other markets, one can acquire a house near the sea, or with a view of it, with a swimming pool and all the amenities,” notes Gavriilidis.
In this context, it is estimated that in the coming years the Greek holiday home market could potentially attract up to 3 million prospective buyers from Northern and Western European countries, such as France, Germany, the Netherlands, Britain, Switzerland, Austria and Belgium.
These markets are estimated to have over 300 million residents who have €250,000-350,000 in savings, worry about inflation and who cannot buy a property for that money in their own country without necessarily resorting to borrowing. This is turning some of them to alternative solutions, such as the acquisition of a holiday home in Greece.
