Greek expats snap up holiday homes
This year, the purchasing interest of Greek expatriates for the acquisition of country homes in Greece has increased significantly.
According to data collected by the sales network of Dutch-based Elxis, second- or even third-generation Greeks, mainly from the US, Canada and Germany, but also from other countries, have significantly strengthened purchases of holiday homes in the local market, and this year especially. This year, more than one in 10 holiday properties has been bought by Greek expatriates.
According to Giorgos Gavriilidis, managing director of holiday home experts Elxis, “based on our data, 20.5% of expats who buy a holiday home in Greece come from Germany, another 20.5% from Canada, followed by expatriates from the US on 17.8%. Homes in Greece are also bought by expats living permanently in the Netherlands (11%), France (6.8%) and Switzerland (5.4%). The areas that interest these people are mainly Crete, Halkidiki and the Ionian Sea.”
Expats prefer newly built houses, which in fact, at a rate over 75%, they buy in the planning stage, that is, before construction has even started. Their goal is certainly to have a vacation home to stay in during their summer vacations, but also a property that will generate a significant income the rest of the year, mainly through digital short-term rental platforms.
As Gavriilidis notes, “a typical example concerns a project we promoted in Halkidiki, with cave dwellings, which was 35% bought by expatriates. Correspondingly, another project of ours with villas in Marathi, Crete was bought at a rate of 27% by expatriates.”
According to Elxis’ analysis, the recovery trajectory of the domestic housing market and rising prices are one of the drivers for Greek expatriates, as expectations for further market growth have improved. At the same time, despite the rise in prices that has taken place, rates remain significantly lower than in the countries where expatriates live permanently, at a time when high-quality real estate is offered in Greece.
Another reason that explains the increase in buying interest this year concerns the significant increase in expatriate visits to Greece this summer.
