By
Fotini Charalampopoulou
Welcome to the Sotheby’s International Realty 2023 Luxury Outlook.
We hope this report helps you navigate this fast-moving and ever-changing real estate market.
While conventional wisdom about supply and demand and interest-rate fluctuation would suggest luxury home prices should be falling, we simply did not
see that happen in 2022. Prices, for the most part, remained
steady in 2022.
This villa on a 30,000 sqm land is immersed in scents and colors of greek ambience.
As Bradley Nelson, Chief Marketing Officer of Sotheby’s International Realty mentions,
“We believe the reasons for prices staying strong are multifold— first, the world’s seen a surge of wealth creation in recent years, and the affluent still have more money to spend; second, many luxury purchases are made in cash, so the high-end sector remains somewhat insulated from interest-rate fluctuations. Finally, there’s a lifestyle change resulting from Covid-19 that we believe is here to stay: People are spending more of their time at home and putting more of an emphasis on their home lives, even as the world has opened up.
That means luxury homeowners can rationalize the expenses of owning multiple properties since they spend more time in them and are less likely to put them up for sale. As such, inventory continues to be low, coupled with an undersupply of new construction.”
Fannie Mae’s November 2022 forecast predicted a decline in home sales, but a rebound is anticipated in 2024. Although mortgage rates are projected to decline steadily, they are unlikely to drop below 6% soon. Despite this, luxury agents remain busy brokering deals for their clients, many looking to make opportunistic investments in a fluctuating market.
In addition to the real estate sector, we will explore what luxury consumers desire in this report, from sustainable luxury items to record-breaking auction sales and wine investments. Now, more than ever, we recognize that affluent individuals want to spend their equity prudently, and we are here to assist them.
Savvas Savvaidis, President & CEO Greece Sotheby’s International Realty, reports :
“At the dawn of 2023, the global luxury property market continues to face the same challenges we saw emerging in 2022: interest rate hikes, energy supply shortages and a geopolitical agenda in the spotlight.”
Despite worldwide uncertainty, luxury real estate in Greece has fared relatively well. The pandemic legacy for prioritizing quality of life is here to stay. Greece has rightfully become one of the favourite destinations for ultra-wealthy buyers. Sotheby’s International Realty continued its upward trajectory in 2022, with an overall demand reaching a volume of €10,4 billion, a staggering increase from previous years.
Savvas Savvaidis continues, “Alternative property destinations such as Lefkada, Syros and even Galaxidi made their entry into the luxury market. At the same time, Mykonos held the top position, as Greece’s most popular luxury location , followed closely by Corfu, Paros and Athens Riviera.
The total number of all-time sales records brokered by our agents has now exceeded 20. Among these transactions, it is worth noting our recent €23 million sale in Mykonos, marking the highest sale ever registered on the famous island for a single home and one of the highest in the Mediterranean for 2022.
Americans and British hold the first and second spots in buyers’ interest, while Germans, Israelis, and Swiss complete the top six of the list.”
