Despite the pandemic, the demand for a permanent holiday home in selected destinations in Greece by foreigners is on the rise, even reaching double digits, a positive sign of how the market could recover in the post-Covid-19 era.

Data from the integrated real estate consulting company Cerved Property Services (formerly Eurobank Property Services), which belongs to the international Italian group Cerved Group, indicate a 30% increase in demand, while as it turns out, the biggest buying interest came mainly by citizens of the United Kingdom, the United States, Cyprus, Australia, and France.

In terms of preferences of destinations, Athens occupies the top spot with the southern suburbs and especially Glyfada being particularly popular. In terms of island destinations, the Cyclades are ahead, with Paros and Santorini being the top choices.

Capturing the overall housing market trends, Cerved Property Services reports that in the previous three years, before the pandemic, there was a significant increase in the housing market with the main reasons focusing on the continuous increase in foreign tourist arrivals (which set a historical record for 2019), the short-term lease and the issuance of Golden Visa licenses.

From the second quarter of 2020, the gradual rise of Covid-19 led to a significant 60% reduction of foreign investment in real estate compared to the corresponding period of 2019.