After Mykonos, which has traditionally been the focus of investment interest from side of the candidates, foreign buyers on the map of the luxury home also come to smaller island destinations, indicative of great interest especially during the last two years.

This is also confirmed by Mr. Savvas Savvaidis, Chairman and CEO adviser to Greece Sotheby’s International Realty, which in addition to the very high volume sales that it has achieved especially in the last six months in Mykonos reaching record-level sales, also saw a rise recently in destinations like Paxos, Ios and Naxos for premium homes with prices exceeding even the €3 million euro mark.

Except new properties (e.g. the South Aegean region belongs to those where the a large increase in private building activity in 2018 reaching in surface +59,3% and in volume +50,6%), buildings that were constructed in the beginning of the crisis have surfaced, especially now that the timing is right with the more positive approach from both the sellers’ side, with given the rise of the luxury home market in our country, as well as buyers’ side, who consider Greece’s prices to be competitive compared to other destinations in the Mediterranean.

Indicatively, a 5 acre property in Paxos that houses one main villa and one two-room guesthouse with a total area of 520 sq.m. built in 2011, with pool, is being sold currently at the price of 3.45 million Euros. In a less “known” destination for luxury home, Milos, a brand new villa, 2018, with bioclimatic design, of 1.100 sq.m. on a plot of 25,000 acres, with a swimming pool and unlimited view of the sea, is for sale at 5.000 Euros per sq.m. in a total of € 5.5 million.

Moreover, with the rise of the market, the high performance of Sotheby’s office in Greece is also associated, showed the highest growth rates internationally.

According to Mr. Savvaidis, Greece Sotheby’s International Realty tripled its sales volume in 2018 compared to the previous year, substantially strengthening its leading position in the luxury real estate market in Greece.

“Within just 24 months we have achieved the highest recorded sales that the company has achieved in Paxos, Naxos and Ios, while during the last 6 months we completed the highest volume of housing agreements in Mykonos. At the same time, Rhodes and Corfu have also witnessed significant growth as a result of the international marketing strategy we followed”.

Internationally, Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC recorded the highest annual return in its history for 2018, with its partners achieving a total sales volume which exceeded 112 billion dollars.

In the financial year, 2018 Sotheby’s International Realty continued to grow into major European markets such as those in Spain, Germany, Austria and the United Kingdom, Slovakia and Switzerland.

At the same time, in 2018, the sale of its shares took place in Cyprus. In Asia, new offices have opened in Sri Lanka and in Thailand, while expansion agreements were signed in Indonesia, Vietnam and China Maldives.

Stefania Skouki