Unexplored destinations, which remained in the shadow of the most popular resorts in Greece and especially Europe, are attracting consistently high demand this year for the purchase of a holiday home (dacha) from foreigners.
The areas of Crete and northwestern Greece, especially on the mainland bordering the Ionian Sea, are the main “milestones” of demand, which will become the dominant trend in 2024, according to analysis by Elxis-At Home In Greece.
“The attractiveness (in terms of low costs) of purchasing property, combined with location in areas of moderate tourism and traffic growth, is a special combination for our clients in 2024. This trend has been ongoing for the past few years, but this year seems to be picking up,” explains Mr. Georgios Gavrielides, Managing Director of Elxis-At Home in Greece, which specializes in the sale of holiday homes to foreign buyers.
As Mr. Gavrielides notes, “Typical examples are the beaches of Epirus, from Preveza to Igoumenitsa, and a little further south to Palairos and Mytikas in Aitoloakarnania, which are experiencing a period of dynamic prosperity. There is also great demand in areas of southern Crete (Libyan Sea), from Plakias in Rethymnon to Agia Galini.”
Country houses
Elxis’s European clients, who are also the main buyers of the Greek company based in Utrecht, the Netherlands, are keen to take advantage of opportunities to buy holiday homes in these areas, which offer unparalleled natural beauty and have very little tourist traffic.
“In the north-west of Greece we highlight places such as the Gulf of Plataria with its sandy beaches, taverns and well-developed sailing infrastructure. In addition, the neighboring villages of Faskomilia and Scorpio are in great demand from abroad. Sivota Thesprotia with its fjords and islets, Perdika and the beaches of Arillas and Karavostasi or even south of Kastrosikia, Kanali and the huge 22 kilometer long beach at Monoliti are of great interest to buyers,” notes Mr. Gavrielides.
Accordingly, opposite Lefkada are Pogonia, Palairos and to the south the beaches of Mitiki. According to Elxis, sales prices for holiday homes in these areas are 25-30% lower than, for example, similar prices in Lefkada and Corfu. XThe characteristic feature of this entire side of the Ionian Sea is moderate tourist development, magnificent natural beauty and privacy – elements that many foreign buyers are looking for and cannot find in other Mediterranean countries that are more developed in terms of tourism. The great advantage of these areas is the port of Igoumenitsa, which greatly facilitates access even by car through Venice, Ancona, Bari and Brindisi.
South Crete
Villages in the southern part of Rethymnon prefecture such as Plakias, Mariou and Asomamos, with panoramic views of the islands of Gavdos and Paximadia, are now prime destinations for hundreds of holiday home buyers. Areas that, although located in a very popular destination of Crete, nevertheless offer a rare quality of life, closeness to nature and the sea, that many buyers from abroad are looking for. At the same time, access to the areas remains good, since the distance from the northern part of Crete and the city of Rethymno is about 35 kilometers, as well as from the airports of Heraklion and Chania.
“The icing on the cake is definitely the affordable cost of buying a holiday home. A newly built mansion with two bedrooms, a swimming pool and a private 400 sqm plot costs around €260,000, or €300,000 if it has a third bedroom. In these three villages in the south of Rethymnon alone, Elxis has sold more than 120 villas in recent years, going so far as to establish its own offices in Plakias,” notes Mr. Gavrielides.
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