Buying A Property In Greece

Greece is one of the most popular foreign holiday destinations for Britons. Around one million of us head for the shores of its hundreds of islands annually, tempted by the lure of sun-kissed beaches, a relaxed pace of life, and a friendly local attitude to the British. But should you buy there?

By Gordon Miller

A large proportion of Greeks speak English, especially in the most popular tourist islands of Crete, Corfu, Paxos, Rhodes and Samos. Direct flights to the country from the UK are growing year-on-year, making the mainland and islands ever more accessible and affordable. easyJet began flying to Crete, for example, last year. Airline Viking has added Samos to their itinerary in 2009; Thomson flies to the island too during the busy summer season. Second homebuyers have welcomed the increased scheduled flights to the larger islands, such as Crete which makes the southernmost outpost a genuine year-round destination.

Where once Crete - and the other islands - were something of a bohemian outpost, they have now become increasingly mainstream. Fully 80 per cent of holiday homebuyers on Crete are said to be British, many of them retirees who are able to draw their UK pension in Greece. The 'greys' have been lured to the islands because of year-round sunshine (not that it doesn't get cold in winter; it does).

Cheap property prices have also been a huge draw. Even today, £40,000 buys a renovated village house in many locations on the island. Only a few years ago, a similar house would have been priced £20,000. But prices have doubled in some areas on the island in the last decade despite a slow down in the last year or two. The Knight Frank Global House Price Index indicated that house prices fell 1.3 per cent year-on-year to the end of Q1, 2009. A recession in Greece is unlikely to see house prices rise significantly any time soon.