Germans top foreign holiday home buyers in Greece

For some foreign nationals, owning a home in Greece may offer many benefits: a retreat, an investment, a place to retire. It seems that many Germans are eyeing the purchase of holiday homes in Greece and are in fact at the top of foreign home buyers, investing increasing sums in seaside property, with a preference for areas such as Crete and the Ionian Islands, according to data from Elxis, a service company specializing in high-end holiday homes .

Figures show that home sales to German nationals rose by 300% in the first half of this year, compared to 2021. This puts German buyers in first place among holiday home buyers in Greece, ahead of investors from other European countries, such as the Netherlands, Belgium and the United Kingdom.

The data

Figures from Elxis, which has been active in the real estate industry for more than 30 years, also show that Germans spend the most on such property purchases, buying homes that reach an average of €350,000. This amount corresponds to an increase of approximately 20% compared to last year as confidence in Greece increases, points out George Gavrielidis, managing director and founder of Elxis.

Mr. Gavrielidis notes that Greece offers excellent value, which investors are increasingly seeing, with saturated areas and high prices in other Mediterranean markets pushing buyers to Greece. Despite the challenges stemming from the war in Ukraine and inflationary pressures, demand for housing in Greece remains high and is expected to continue. Recent data of the Bank of Greece for the first quarter of 2022, show that there were inflows of 374 million euros for the purchase of real estate in Greece, an amount greater by 74.8% compared to the corresponding period of 2021.

Characteristically, Elxis is expanding and investing significantly in its operational activities by increasing its German-speaking employees and upgrading of the German-language version of its site, according to Mr. Gavrielides.