This rise in demand is mainly attributed to the recent changes in the Golden Visa program in Greece, which turned investors’ attention to other parts of the country, where the lower investment “barrier” of 250,000 euros/permit is still valid. “The recent rise of the minimum investment limit, from 250,000 to 500,000 euros in the two major cities of Greece, i.e. Athens (city center, north and south suburbs) and Thessaloniki (city center), has led those investors looking to acquire a Golden Visa permit, to look for other parts, where this doesn’t apply. Among the most popular options emerging, are the areas close to the major cities of Rhodes, Crete and Chalkidiki”, says Mr. George Gavriilidis, CEO of Elxis, which specializes in holiday home sales to foreign buyers in Greece.
This trend is expected to become more prevalent in the coming months, when a significant number of transactions will be completed. According to Elxis though, there’s already an increase in the number of British and U.S. buyers of holiday homes, who are also looking to secure residency permits. This wasn’t the case a year ago. The same can be said for buyers from other countries as well, like Canada and Israel. Based on data from the Ministry of Migration and Asylum of Greece, from the beginning of 2023 and up until the end of November of the year, the number of permits granted to investors from the UK, had grown by 77.8% to reach 370. Similarly, residency permits granted to U.S. citizens (among them many Greek expatriates of second and even third generation), was up by 47.5%, growing from 183 at the start of 2023, to 270 by the end of November. However, it should be noted that those figures are expected to increase exponentially over the coming months, as a result of the long delays from the authorities to grant residency permits requests, due to an overburden of requests.
Smaller houses are now preferred by many
foreign buyers
Another emerging trend in 2024, has to do with many foreign buyers’ preference towards holiday homes of a small surface area. “What we can see, is that the houses that our clients are looking for, are getting smaller, but at the same time, much more luxurious, in terms of their aesthetics, but also their amenities. What’s important these days, isn’t so much the size of the interior space of the house, or the number of rooms. Instead, the homes most in demand offer well designed bathrooms and kitchens, as well as beautiful outdoors spaces, such as heated pools, gazebos with lounges, even an outside kitchen”, explains Mr. Gavriilidis.
The main reason for this shift in buyers’ preferences, is the fact that nowadays, they’re aiming to secure the highest possible yield from their property. According to Elxis, this development is the result of the big and sudden rise in interest rates, which are now similar to the annual yield one can expect from a holiday home. As such, investors opt to acquire a holiday home of a lower price, between 300,000 and 400,000 euros (instead of 500,000 euros), which allows them to mainly use their own saving and thus, maximize the return on their investment. At the same time, they can stay in a luxurious house for a few weeks per year.
These trends were also verified at the recent international holiday home event, “Second Home Expo”, where Elxis took part in. The Expo took place in Maastricht a few days ago. The Second Home Expo is the largest show of its kind in the Benelux region, with over 25,000 investors and potential second home buyers, visiting on an annual basis. The average budget of these people stands at 238,000 euros, which a clear sign of the appeal of the holiday home market, among the European buying audience.
