Young Buyers Invest in Greece
The typical age of home buyers in Greece is changing, as more and more 30-55 year-olds look to invest in the Greek real estate market. These are not the usual European pensioners, who used to be the main buyers of Greek real estate. This new, younger group of buyers sees buying a holiday home more like an investment, not just as somewhere to spend the summer. They are acting with their brains less than with their heart, and the first consideration is profit.
Why Greece?
These buyers are usually entrepreneurs who are making their first real estate investments. “They know Greece from a few holiday trips they took at one point,” says Mr. George Gavriilidis, founder and CEO of Elxis. “Usually, the homes they focus on are newly built and have a pool, and are in ideal locations, like in Crete or on the Ionian islands.” This ensures high yields for the buyer.
According to Mr. Gavriilidis, many countries put restrictions on real estate that is bought with the purpose of renting it out. The buyer might be required to grant its exclusive use during the high season, in the summer. In Greece, however, the house’s owner can pick the dates he or she wants to use the home, and then rent it out for the rest of the season. This is a unique advantage to the Greek market that is bringing younger buyers to Greece. Until now, these same buyers were more interested in the Spanish market.
Easy Property Management
It’s not uncommon to encounter buyers that are between 30 and 40 years old, even for Elxis’s properties that are 200,000 euros and up. In one particular case, a Dutch computer programmer bought a villa in Palairos on Greece’s western coast mostly with profits earned from cryptocurrencies.
Younger buyers usually buy through Elxis and manage all the letting, maintenance, and cleaning through Notos Estate Management. Through services like Notos, owners can be hands-off, simply notifying the dates they will use the house from the previous winter. Then, at the end of November, they can check their balance to see how much was added to their account.
Buying with Technology
One unique aspect of these young buyers is that they may send advance payment for a house even before coming to Greece. Pictures and videos or drone footage by an Elxis associate giving a virtual tour both inside and outside of the property are enough for them to make a decision whether to buy or not.
