According to data provided on its website by the company Elxis (*), the second and third generation Greek expatriates, mainly from the USA, Canada and Germany, are returning dynamically to their homeland and want to buy a house in order to visit the country more often us.
One of the driving forces behind this increased demand, especially this year, is the fact that the Greek real estate market is in a state of rapid price recovery. At the same time, buyers can find high-quality properties that are competitively priced, especially compared to the countries where these people live permanently.
Where are most home buyers from?
According to Mr. Giorgos Gavrielidis, CEO of Elxis, "based on our data, 20.5% of expats who buy real estate in Greece come from Germany, an additional 20.5% are from Canada, while the US expatriates are responsible for 17.5% of acquisitions. Country houses in Greece are also bought by expats living permanently in the Netherlands (11%), France (6.8%) and Switzerland (5.4%). Expats are mainly interested in real estate in Crete, Halkidiki and the Ionian Sea."
Off-plan properties
In fact, over 75% of Greek expatriates prefer to buy newly built houses off the plan. They want to use the house for their holidays, but also to rent out, mainly as short-term rentals. "One such example was a project of ours in the popular first peninsula of Halkidiki. The project had cave houses, 35% of which were bought by expatriates. In another project of ours in Crete, 27% of its buyers were expatriates," says Mr. Gavrielidis.
The Americans are turning up the heat
In its latest monthly report on the European short-term rental market, AirDNA reported that the summer of 2023 was marked by a full return of American tourists to popular European destinations. This was the first time US visitors have come to Europe on such a scale since the Covid-19 pandemic. Until now, they mostly preferred destinations in the Americas or exclusively within the US borders. This development has significantly increased the demand for short-term rentals. As a result, 17% of Greece's visitors came from the US. In fact, according to AirDNA, this was the fifth best result in Europe. A part of these visitors were second or even third generation Greek expatriates who finally found the opportunity to visit their homeland for the first time in their lives. This has also had a significant effect on holiday home sales, which is often the case in the secondary housing market. People who visit a beautiful vacation location often also research the real estate market so they can buy their dream home.
Increase in German Buyers
The same can be said for buyers from Germany, who are also part of a large "reservoir" in the Greek holiday home market. Elxis data from 2022 had shown an "explosion" in holiday home buyers from Germany, up 300% compared to 2021. Expats played an important role in this increase, returning to Greece in search of a property to enjoy their summer vacation.
(*) Elxis is a provider of real estate and legal services in the Greek market. With offices in Thessaloniki, Crete and Utrecht in the Netherlands and a team of highly skilled real estate professionals it has a track record of over 30 years of experience in residential property investment management.
