The holiday home market is emerging as a sector of high added value for the Greek economy. At a time when foreign direct investment is proving to be ever so important for Greece’s GDP growth, foreign entrepreneurs and investors are making significant moves in developing new holiday homes across various regions of Greece.
“During the past 18 months, we have noticed strong interest both from our clients abroad, but also from other third-party investors who approach us and are eager to get involved in holiday home development themselves. This is yet another indication that Greece is a highly attractive destination for the holiday home market,” says Mr. George Gavriilidis, CEO of Elxis – At Home in Greece. The company, based in the Netherlands, specializes in promoting Greek holiday homes to foreign buyers.
This type of foreign direct investment, i.e. for developing real estate, rather than simply purchasing properties — creates significant added value for the economy, as they mobilize capital across the entire “construction chain,” from materials to labor, while also boosting public revenues. As a result, this trend can be viewed as especially positive, at a time when capital inflows from abroad for Greek real estate are expected to decline, due to stricter rules for the “Golden Visa” program and limits on short-term rentals. In fact, already, according to data from the Bank of Greece, in the first quarter of 2025, foreign capital inflows fell by 31.4% to €356.8 million, down from €520 million a year earlier. Overall, 2024 saw a record in foreign investments, with €2.75 billion flowing into the country, an increase of 30% compared to 2023.
According to data gathered by Elxis, more and more foreign investors are choosing to develop new holiday home real estate. These investors are both private individuals or even businesses from Western Europe, such as Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium. For example, a German company is currently building 65 apartments near the Venetian harbor of Chania, Crete. A Dutch entrepreneur, owner of a construction firm, is developing 28 ultra-luxury, fully furnished apartments in Vasiliki of Lefkada and will also manage them on behalf of the buyers (e.g. rental, maintenance, and cleaning services). Meanwhile, a Belgian investor is building 14 villas with pools on the island of Rhodes.
“Just in recent days, we worked with a Dutch investor who will acquire two plots of land in southern Corfu and Chalkidiki. In the first case, in a seaside area, 20 homes are planned, while in Chalkidiki an additional 15 homes will be developed. Another Dutch entrepreneur purchased land in Palairos, in the Aitoloakarnania region (very close to Lefkada), and commissioned a builder to construct 15 villas and apartments with a shared pool,” Mr. Gavriilidis adds.
In general, foreign investors prefer plots in highly privileged locations, as close to the sea as possible, and focus on building high-end properties with corresponding specifications and amenities. The consistently strong demand from buyers in these countries — primarily from Western Europe and specifically from the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, and the UK — encourages more investors to enter the Greek holiday home market.
According to Elxis, it is getting increasingly common nowadays for several entrepreneurs to invest proceeds from the sale of their business shares into Greek real estate. “When they sell their companies, these people don’t opt for investments like the stock market or simply depositing their cash in a bank, where returns are minimal anyway. Instead, they prefer to build a small number of holiday homes in Greece, which they rent out for about five years, before reselling them to capitalize on the capital gains realized in the meantime,” Mr. Gavriilidis concludes.
About Elxis
Elxis – At Home in Greece (https://elxis.com/) is a leading provider of realty and legal services in the Greek market. With offices in Thessaloniki and Crete in Greece, as well as Utrecht in the Netherlands, Elxis’s team of highly qualified property professionals has over 30 years of experience in managing residential property investments. The company covers the needs of its international clientele in the best way possible, with a team of seven legal experts, as well as with personnel whose native spoken language is English, Dutch, French, and German.
