The prices of winter holiday homes in Greece record an increase for another year, following the trend that prevailed in 2020 as well.
According to research by E-Real Estates, the winter cottage market is a sector that experienced rapid growth in 2005-2008. In the following years, a rapid decline in holiday prices was recorded in all the mountainous tourist areas of Greece, which in several cases even reached 55%.
In 2019 the requested selling prices in the popular winter destinations showed a marginal increase, in 2020 the increases were visible in the total selling prices, which in many cases even reached 25%, while this year there is an increase in the total of the popular winter destinations in Greece.
A typical example is the fact that in Arachova the asking sale price of a house built after 2005, in 2019 ranged from 750 euros / sq.m. up to 1,500 euros / sq.m., in 2020 ranged from 1,100 euros / sq.m. up to 2,200 euros / sq.m. and this year the requested sale price is set at 1,320 euros / sq.m. up to 2,300 euros / sq.m.
In Kalavrita, the asking sale price of a house built after 2005, in 2019 ranged from 800 euros / sq.m. up to 1,600 euros / sq.m., in 2020 ranged from 1,400 euros / sq.m. up to 2,000 euros / sq.m. and this year the requested sale price is from 1,600 euros / sq.m.
In Trikala, Corinth, the asking sale price of a house built after 2005, in 2019 ranged from 1,300 euros / sq.m. up to 1,500 euros / sq.m., in 2020 ranged from 1,300 euros / sq.m. up to 2,500 euros / sq.m. and this year the requested sale price is from 1,500 euros / sq.m.
According to the research, winter cottages, after 10 years of dormancy, are starting to follow the overall upward trend recorded at the requested prices in the last 36 months in the domestic real estate market, but at a slower pace.
It is worth mentioning that in the previous three years there has been no strong investment interest in buying winter cottages. The minimum transactions that took place in 2018 and 2019 concerned real estate up to 80,000-100,000 euros by winter sports fans, who seized the opportunity to invest in real estate for which 10 years ago they would have had to invest more than 250,000 euros and at the same time enroll them in short-term rental platforms on days when they do not reside on them.
In previous years, there were many owners who failed to sell their winter cottage at a satisfactory price during the crisis and registered on short-term rental platforms with the season, in order for their property to generate some income financing the loan installment and/or the total expenses (ENFIA etc.).
The old trend of renting with the season, the good times of the economy, has now returned strongly due to coronavirus. As early as mid-September and early October 2020, and especially after the rapid increase in daily cases of coronavirus, the demand was recorded increasing day by day. The information states that in Arachova alone, about 500 houses were rented during the season, either for periods of three months, or from September to Easter, or from September to May.
There were many Athenians who at the beginning of October 2020 chose to rent a holiday home during the season, so as not to be “trapped” in an apartment in Attica. This year this trend is at satisfactory levels, but does not record the rapid increase recorded last year.
On the contrary, however, high booking rates were recorded for both the four days of celebration of October 28th, which was the beginning of the winter season, and for the weekends of November, both in detached houses and/or apartments registered on short-term rental platforms.
Impressive are the percentages recorded by the reservations for the festive days of Christmas and New Year.
The increase in asking prices this year is mainly due to the rapid increase in demand recorded in early September 2020 for rental real estate with the season (September-May) mainly in the top winter destinations within a radius of 2.5 hours from Attica with good road access, due to the pandemic, but also due to the general upward trend recorded in the real estate market and the fact that many winter sports enthusiasts but also those who do not have a “village house” and/or cottage, with available funds up to 150,000 euros, are considering investing in houses as an investment with the aim of exploiting through short-term lease platforms the intervals during which they will not live themselves.