Greece's holiday home market hot, yields beat Nice and Saint Tropez

Greece's holiday home market is on a growth path as high returns and realistic market prices have made the properties an attractive investment for foreign and domestic buyers, according to Algean Property.

In a report, Algean said there was strong demand in areas of high tourist interest, either by the seaside or on mainland Greece, last year. Mykonos, Paros, and Santorini were once again top picks for foreign buyers, while next on the list came Corfu, Rhodes, Chalkidiki, and Crete.

"As tourism has left a positive imprint across the country, alternative destinations in the Peloponnese (Messinia), the Dodecanese (Kos, Symi) and the Ionian island (Lefkada, Zakynthos) have begun to attract buyers as well. Increased demand has led to marginal increases in holiday homes’ asking prices in areas of high tourist interest (Mykonos, Santorini, Corfu, Rhodes) as well as in large urban centers where rapid growth in the short-term rental market was noticeable," the report said.

Investing in a holiday home in Greece is making economic senses, the figures show. Holiday home rental yields in popular destinations recorded solid figures in 2019, higher than competitive destinations in the Mediterranean. Mykonos, Paros, and Santorini remained the top-performers for a third year in a row recording a gross average yield of 8.2 percent, 6.5 percent and 6.3 percent respectively followed by other destinations, such as Skiathos (6 percent), Porto Heli (5.1 percent), and Rhodes, Halkidiki and Chania (4.8 percent). These figures compared with lower yields seen in Marbella (4.3 percent), Nice (4.2 percent) and Saint-Tropez (3.9 percent).

The increase seen in foreign direct investment (FDI) in real estate purchases is another indication of the holiday home sector’s upward trend in Greece. More specifically, for 2018, FDI for real estate purchases stood at 1.12 billion euros, showing a 172 percent jump from 2017. Preliminary figures from the Bank of Greece for the first half of last year show that FDI hit 736.6 million euros, a 95 percent increase compared to the same period a year earlier.

"With the assistance of the tourism sector, the holiday home market has become the most dynamic part of the domestic real estate market, while the gradual stabilization and growth of the Greek economy is a guarantee for the industry’s further development," said Algean.