Profile of foreign homebuyers
Businesspeople and senior or top executives of companies, aged 50 and over, are today the main buying public for a holiday home in Greece. These are people who have saved money and are mainly interested in acquiring a newly built property in the Greek market, with their main aim being having it for their own use and secondarily for utilization through short-term rental platforms.
These are the main conclusions of a related analysis by the company Elxis – At Home in Greece, which is based in the Netherlands and specializes in the sale and management of holiday homes in the Greek market.
Based on the relevant data, the most numerous category concerns buyers with an available budget of 250,000 to 600,000 euros. According to the managing director of the company, Giorgos Gavriilidis, “until 2023 the ceiling of our customers was around €450,000-500,000 and this concerned a relatively small number, as most of them were around €300,000-350,000. Today we see that this has changed and there is demand for more expensive houses, over €500,000, of course new constructions with a private pool and large spaces, garden and other facilities.”
Notably, this year the average value of the houses that have been sold is €378,500, an amount that represents an increase of 27.8% compared to the properties sold in 2023. Compared to 2022 the difference is even greater, as at that time the average value of holiday homes sold did not exceed €263,000, showing the shift made by buyers, despite the increase in interest rates in the meantime.
“We see that this year the total value of our sales has far exceeded last year’s performance, although in absolute numbers the homes sold are comparable to 2023. This is because the cost of Greek properties in relation to their specifications and other markets’ supply are hard to compare. Newly built properties with a pool, close to or with sea views and a range of amenities, costing €350,000, are particularly hard to find in other European countries, the prices are 40% higher on average,” says Gavriilidis.
