Greece Sotheby’s International Realty has just published its first market report for the Greek market, based on its quantitative data and analysis spanning three years. The main conclusions display that the Greek market is moving steadily towards a maturity phase.

Buyers want to view
International demand remains at exceptionally high levels, with numbers steadily rising over the last 12 quarters and the ratio of Viewings/Leads reaching 15.3% in the first nine months of 2022, compared to 13.2% and 12% in the respective periods of 2021 and 2020.

Thriving Interest
The total value of leads more than doubled in the last two years, reaching €4.2 billion in the first nine months of 2022, compared to 1.7 billion euros in 2020.
The increase is mainly attributed to : (1) the systematic promotion of Greek luxury properties to the international market, (2) the increase in global liquidity of the 2020-2021 period, and (3) the behavioural patterns of luxury buyers during the pandemic period.

The average deal reached €2.9 million
The average transaction’s value maintains a steady upward trend, reaching €2.9 million in the first nine months of 2022, compared to €2.7 million and €2.5 million in the respecting periods of 2021 and 2020.

Buyers hesitate
Although the number of deals in the first nine months of 2022 remained high, there has been a drop in viewings to deals conversion, especially for entry-level luxury homes. Specifically, while in 2021, 14.3% of viewings converted to a deal, in 2022, the corresponding percentage dropped to 7.9%. This development essentially reflects (1) Sellers less willing to sell and therefore not willing to negotiate, (2) Lack of inventory after a very active period of sales, and (3) the reluctance of buyers to close deals in a period of geopolitical and macroeconomic instability.

USA and Great Britain stand out
Regarding interest from individual countries, the United States took the lead, as one in five requests in the first nine months of 2022 came from this particular market. The United Kingdom followed, and the first three countries showing interest were completed with requests from Greece’s domestic audience. It is worth noting that the combined demand from the USA, the United Kingdom and Greece exceeds 45% of the total market, with France, Germany, Switzerland, Israel, Canada, Australia and Belgium completing the top ten countries in terms of the origin of interest.

Corfu and Mykonos are popular spots.
In terms of destinations, Corfu and Mykonos, which represent 26.3% of the total demand, held their high place of interest for another year, with the Southern Suburbs of Athens completing the top three and Paros, Rhodes and Tinos following. What is worth noting is that over the past five years, international awareness of luxury home destinations throughout Greece has grown significantly.

Given the first market analysis data, Savvas Savvaidis, President and CEO of Greece Sotheby’s International Realty, notes: “It is a fact that during the last six months, we see buyers less determined to close deals. It is a trend that mostly affects the entry level of luxury homes and much less the top-end of the trophy and rare properties. It was somehow expected as the prolonged uncertainty of the geopolitical scene, combined with concerns about the duration and depth of the economic crisis, have affected the “positive mood for luxury buyers in real estate all across the globe. Like the rest of the key locations in the Med, Greece has followed the trend. However, we should note that data analysis highlights the long-term prospects of the Greek luxury real estate market. There is a considerable upside as Greece’s luxury real estate footprint represents only 4% of the top Mediterranean market. Prices remain very competitive in many locations compared to the rest of the Med. We expect Greece’s luxury property market to grow significantly in the medium and long term: Important infrastructure investment projects ( marinas, airports, golf courses, data centres, 5G etc.) and a promising pipeline of branded and not branded mixed developments are already in direct sight.” 


You may read the full report here: Q3 2022 – Luxury Homes in Greece