Berkshire Hathaway: “Unprecedented” demand for luxury properties in Greece

The Greek market is once again the star on the world map for real estate, presenting an unprecedented demand for the rental of luxury homes, especially during the summer months.

This is according to the latest report Europe India UAE 2023 Real Estate, by Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, which captures the conclusions of a live webinar presented in Europe, India and the United Arab Emirates.

In this e-meeting, leading executives of the residential real estate industry from Greece and many more countries of the global network – Italy, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom, India and the United Arab Emirates – analyzed the new trends and dynamics of each real estate market in this year’s challenges of the real estate sector.

The Greece of “luxury”

Greece continues to be in the first preferences of visitors and investors from all over the world, as the “enchanting paradise” of Europe, since it combines the excellent historical background and timeless cultural wealth, with the amazing coasts and landscapes, making many seek permanent residence in Greece.

This increased demand makes it difficult to rent houses during the holidays and beyond, with industry professionals urging tourists to pre-book the properties of their choice, even nine months in advance. At the same time, the occupancy limit for obtaining the Golden Visa tends to double in the next period, while it seems that many Greek tenants are being pushed out of the densely populated neighborhoods of the wider center of Athens as well as its popular suburbs, due to the successive increases in rents.

Mr. Kyriakos Xydis, Managing Partner of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Athens Properties comments on the new phenomena, stating that “the Greek government’s announcement to increase the Golden Visa limit from 250,000 euros to 500,00 euros mainly affects popular places and tourist destinations, such as the center of Athens and its popular southern and northern suburbs and the islands of Mykonos and Santorini”. In fact, he explains that “this change is happening because many Greek residents were excluded from the housing market, due to the investments that came from abroad, which shot up the prices. In recent years, investors from all over the world have been buying real estate, driving up demand and prices. Furthermore, many Greeks are leaving their homes, which are located in central and crowded places, due to high rents. Through this specific measure, the Government is trying to tame the absurd increases in house prices in many cases, although the results alone will show the effectiveness of the measure.