Uncertainty takes toll on luxury homes

The climate of political and economic uncertainty in Greece has curbed, albeit temporarily, the recovery of the Greek luxury home market, which last year there saw significant activity and an increase in transaction volume after the slump of 2015.

Prospective home buyers from abroad are reluctant to commit for the time being and prefer to wait until the conditions on the fiscal front become clearer with an agreement between Athens and its creditors.

According to Yiannis Ploumis, managing director of the Ploumis-Sotiropoulos estate agency that specializes in luxury homes, buying interest from abroad appears to have subsided since the start of 2017, especially when compared to the same period last year.

“However,” Ploumis adds, “it is positive that the current season is traditionally an off-peak one for the holiday home market. Were the present uncertainty related to the completion of the second bailout review, and financial and political stability in general, to be recorded in the summer months, it is obvious that we would be talking about a serious loss. A similar thing happened in 2015, and this was directly reflected in demand for luxury homes in Greece.”