According to a new analysis from Elxis, a Greek company, based in the Netherlands, specializing in holiday home sales, the rise of interest rates has resulted in an increase of demand, during the past few months. Lower holiday homes prices in Greece, when ecompared to other rival markets, has been a major reason for this. This means that foreign buyers can avoid turning to bank financing to complete a property purchase in Greece.
“After the rise of interest rates, we are seeing a halt in our clients’ desire for bank lending, when it comes to a holiday home purchase. This is happening because an interest rate of 4%-5%, is practically cancelling out any return on their investment, for example from renting out their property”, explains Mr. George Gavriilidis, CEO of Elxis. According to him, this development means that investors coming from countries in the West and Northern Europe, like for example,, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, France, the UK, Austria and Switzerland, now prefer to dive only into their savings, in order to acquire a holiday home abroad and more specifically Greece.
By doing so, buyers are securing a quadruple benefit, Elxis says in its analysis:
1) Protecting their savings from inflation
2) Securing a significant return on their investment, from renting out their property
3) Combining revenues from property management, with personal use (eating their cake and having it)
4) Remarkable prospects of realizing profits from reselling their property down the line, after 5-10 years.
The fact that in Greece, the average price of a newly built holiday home is now ranging between 300,000 – 350,000 euros, means that the country is ideal for European investors, which is quickly becoming a realization among more and more potential property buyers. “There is a lot of value in Greece’s holiday homes, because one can acquire a modern house, close to the beach, or with a view to the sea, a pool and a number of other amenities, while spending a lower amount of money, compared to other markets”, says Mr. Gavriilidis. He also adds that, according to recent estimates from respective reports, there are potentially about 3 million Western European citizens, who are thinking of investing a sum of 300,000 – 350,000 euros in the property market, both for their own private use, but also for generating revenues.
As a result, the Greek market is turning into a rather “hot” one, among foreign buyers, a trend which is also evident in tourist flows, which is also working in favor of the holiday home market. The mix of advantages on offer is such, that the number of investors is rapidly growing. “The market has changed significantly over the past few years, from a buyers’ market, into a sellers’ market. A decade ago, we had buyers choosing their preferred property among a number of options. Today, we are seeing a waiting list from interested buyers, who are waiting for the next development, in order to gain access to the market”, Mr. Gavriilidis concluded.
