It is known that Greece holds one of the highest positions in home ownership and has been analyzed many times the reasons behind this. However, rarely have we talked about the topic « Holiday homes » which is one of the main dreams of the average Greek and European.

Through the years the data have changed when we refer to a holiday home.  In the past when we referred to a holiday home our mind was automatically led to a stone house in the village, now in 2022 with the possibilities of short-term rent even this stone cottage in the mountains can have an income and not burden the family budget.

However, from a financial point of view, the analysis of the prices of holiday properties has a difference. According to data of Ellika Real Estate, the main categories that have been formed lately are:

• High tourist traffic houses, which are holiday homes worth mainly over 800.000€ in "international" destinations such as Mykonos and Santorini, followed by Syros, Patmos, Rhodes, Corfu. The houses are of high quality construction and maintenance, are located in privileged places either with unobstructed views or direct access to the sea and they are interesting  for purchase / investment either from  Greeks and foreigners. The exploitation possibilities are high as they have a demand for rent for more than 4 months / year with incomes that compete with long-term leases. Of course, due to their special characteristics in the construction but also in the area where they are located, their value cannot be recorded statistically, however a general range could be determined to be from 2.500€ / sq.m. up to 10.000 or even 15.000€/ sq.m.

• A second category is the holiday homes at a distance of 200km / 2-2.5 hours by car, from Athens (and the airport). These properties are of great interest for investment since 2020 until today both by Greeks and foreigners (Our researches show that they are mainly from European countries). Obviously the main factor that the interest on these properties is increased is easy access with the possibility of visiting even on the weekend but now with remote working many people choose to work from there most days of the week. This category also includes the islands of the Saronic Gulf such as Hydra and Spetses, which can be reached by sea taxi. The prices of these houses differ and that depends on the distance from Attica but also on the cost of land, however a general range is from 1.200€ / sq.m. to 3.000€/ sq.m. and in mansions of special aesthetics and location the prices range at 5.000€ / sq.m.

• The third category consists remoted areas from the capital that the transition requires either ferry or plane. In this category there is no particular increase in demand but more a stabilization of prices. The requested prices have a range and start from 1.000 €/ sq.m. and reach up to 2.000 € / sq.m. and in this case there are some cases that exceed this range.

Finally, we must mention that the forecasts for the tourist season of 2022 were expected to be very successful, in fact there is a hope to exceed the numbers of 2019 and it had brought optimism for both the tourism industry and the real estate market and the Greek economy in general.

However, the current developments with both the hostilities on Europe and the energy crisis combined with the high (for 5 years data) inflation is a recipe that can eliminate the investment opportunities on holiday homes. As mentioned above, access to the holiday home is a key factor and if this transition has higher costs and in combination with the very high cost of maintenance and renovation does not leave profit / income from short-term rent. In addition, many road projects are underway that improve access to many areas of Greece, resulting in an increase in the supply of real estate for sale. Based on all the above and the rules of the economy at the moment, it is predicted that the requested prices will start to show signs of decline.