“A Dutch businessman sold his IT business in the Netherlands and decided to move to Greece for tax reasons. He chose the area of ​​Agios Pavlos in the south of Rethymno, Crete. Buy from deluxe cave plans residence, by the sea, worth 1.25 million euros. How property it was under construction, he rented another seafront residence overlooking the Libyan Sea. The purchase is being made through a company he set up in Greece, which will then buy other properties to operate.” Mr. Giorgos Gavrielidis reports to “K”.Founder and CEO of Elxis, a real estate and vacation rental company.

This example is typical of the great impact that the Greek holiday property market continues to have in 2023, despite the “turbulence” seen in the global economy and the growth interest rates. According to Mr. Gavrielidis, the progress of sales in a development project of 25 detached houses with a swimming pool in the area of ​​Plakias, also in the southern part of Rethymnon, indicates demand and investment interest. Within a few weeks, 50% of the complex has already been sold, as advances have been issued for 13 of the 25 residences.

In fact, in most of them, properties have found a buyer from the plans. “A stakeholder from Germany saw the residential buildings on the Elxis website and although she decided to go to Greece in June to see the house in person and talk to the builder, she finally expedited her decision and decided to buy due to the high interest. it arose because of the complex in question,” notes Mr. Gavrielidis.

Accordingly, according to Mr. Ioannis Revitis, Head of Revithis & Partners, “we see that this year the interest in country houses remains high, especially among people who are several years away from retirement, aged 50-55. In Mykonos this year, a Swiss couple bought a house of 200 sq.m. instead of 850,000 euros. On Andros, an Australian couple purchased a property of 180 sq.m. instead of the amount of 360,000 euros, and in Corfu a holiday home of 120 sq.m. it was sold to an Italian couple instead of 350,000 euros.”

The Dutchman allocated 1.25 million euros for the purchase of a cave house to be built in Agios Pavlos, Rethymno.

According to the relevant analysis by Elxis, there are significant differences in the investment behavior of foreign buyers during 2023. “We see that the majority of our clients prefer to buy houses on plans, as the cost is up to 20% lower than when buying a turnkey house,” emphasizes Mr. Gavrielides. In Crete, for example, such real estate is in great demand, costing from 250,000 euros (villa with a pool) or from 300,000 euros and more (apartments by the sea).

With capital

This differentiation of investor preferences is associated with an increase in the cost of borrowing. Higher interest rates curb demand for mortgage loans, as a result, foreign investors finance the acquisition of real estate exclusively from their own capital. “In previous years, most transactions were financed mainly by bank loans, as the value of money was at historically low levels. Most of our clients are now using equity, without bank borrowing, which has also reduced the available budget, which also explains the fact that the average cost per transaction has decreased by 12% this year,” emphasizes Mr. Gavrielidis. As such, although slightly cheaper properties are favored than last year, total sales value, according to Elxis data, is up 4% from last year. This is because the number of transactions has also increased at a rate of 10%.

The British want a “golden visa”.

Also important this year is the transition of British buyers to obtaining a residence permit under the Golden Visa program. According to Elxis, a couple of women from England have agreed to purchase (from plans) a residence worth 269,000 euros, which they plan to use themselves when they are in Greece and rent it out the rest of the time. . They then entered into a cohabitation agreement with the intention of obtaining a golden visa after construction was completed, and paid the price required to obtain a “golden visa”.

In the past, several Britons have turned to more expensive properties in Greece, up to 500,000 euros, taking advantage of the low cost of credit, the company says. However, this year the financing of the purchase of real estate is carried out exclusively at the expense of equity, which is a product of savings. At the same time, there is a clear increase in the flow of applicants and residence permits, as the Greek program is one of the last in operation in the European Union and offers significant benefits for British investors after the country’s exit from the EU.