Greece Sotheby's International Realty: Confidence in Greek luxury property strengthens as home markets soften

• Second annual Voices of Affluence survey by Greece Sotheby's International Realty: 57% of affluent respondents expect prices to rise, half plan to buy within two years, and the single change they ask of Greece is a faster, clearer process, well ahead of lower taxes.

ATHENS, Greece, Nov. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- High-net-worth buyers are more confident in Greek luxury property than a year ago, according to the second annual Voices of Affluence survey by Greece Sotheby's International Realty. Among 249 respondents from 28 countries, 57% expect luxury prices in Greece to rise over the next 12 months, up from 44% in 2025, while the share expecting a decline has fallen to 14% from 20%.

International respondents expect Greek prices to rise (53%) far more often than they expect their own property market at home to improve (19%); 42% describe that home market as weaker than a year ago. Half of all respondents plan to buy in Greece within two years, and 56% would pay entirely from their own capital.

The survey is the only systematic reading of high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth sentiment on Greek luxury real estate. In a market the size of Greece this audience is exceptionally hard to reach: the 249 completed responses come from a proprietary database of around 14,300 qualified contacts built over a decade, and the series stands alone in the Greek luxury brokerage market.

Key findings at a glance

• Half of respondents (51%) have bought or sold property in Greece in the past five years.
• One in three (33%) plans to buy within 12 months; one in two (50%) within 24 months.
• 56% would finance a purchase entirely from their own capital; 5% depend on a mortgage.
• Asked for the one change that would make Greece an easier place to buy, nearly half (47%) name the speed and predictability of the process, 16% taxation and transaction costs, 9% supply, prices and infrastructure.

Sentiment: firmer on prices, stronger on Greece than on home

Expectations for Greek luxury prices have firmed across every group. 57% expect a rise (9% a significant one), 30% expect stability and 14% a decline, so 86% see prices holding or rising. Conviction runs highest among Greek respondents (61% expect a rise) and British ones (70%), while the share of Americans who foresee a decline has dropped to 8% from 30%.

The Greek economy keeps the confidence of four in five respondents. 39% expect it to improve over the next 12 months, up from 27%, and 41% expect stability. Opinion has sharpened at both ends: 20% now expect deterioration (17% in 2025), a view held by 30% of Greek respondents and one in eight international ones.

International respondents judge Greece against a weaker backdrop at home. 42% describe their home property market as worse than a year ago and 34% expect further weakening, against 19% who expect improvement. Personal finances stay robust: 48% report an improvement over the past year and 59% expect another in the year ahead.

Purchase intention is broad and concrete. On the new five-point scale, 27% rate a purchase in Greece within 12 months very likely or certain and a further 24% moderately likely; among respondents who identify as buyers, those shares rise to 34% and 61%. One in three plans to buy within 12 months and one in two within 24 months. Even among the 34 respondents who expect prices to fall, 53% still rate a purchase at least moderately likely, confirming the life-driven demand identified in the 2025 edition.

Who is buying, and where

Greek residents form 42% of the sample (33% in 2025) and are far more often owners: 71% describe themselves as sellers or as both buyers and sellers. International respondents, 58% of the total, are led by the United Kingdom (11%), the United States (10%), Germany (6%), Switzerland (5%), Italy (4%) and the GCC (3%), with Australia and Canada entering the top ten.

Three in five respondents are aged 55 or over. Budgets concentrate at €1–2M (56%) and €2–5M (33%); 11% plan to spend above €5M. International respondents aim higher, with 54% above €2M, and 49% of them want a villa; Greeks favour apartments and penthouses (39%) and development plots (24%).

Purpose separates the two groups. International respondents buy for a holiday home (44%), and 14% cite relocation or tax residency, the Non-Dom regime included. Greeks buy for rental income (30%), as a legacy asset for the family (20%) or as a primary residence (18%).

Destinations are spreading. Among international respondents the Ionian Islands lead (26%), ahead of the Cyclades (20%), the Athens Riviera (15%) and the Peloponnese (12%); American interest, concentrated on the Athens Riviera and the Cyclades in 2025, now extends to the Peloponnese and the Ionian. Greeks stay close to the capital: Athens, from the centre and northern suburbs to the Riviera, absorbs 56% of their interest, followed by the Cyclades (15%).

The British shift is the result of the year. 56% of UK respondents expect the Greek economy to improve (20% in 2025), 70% expect prices to rise (44%) and 41% rate a purchase within 12 months very likely or certain (24%). Relocation or tax residency is their most cited purpose (26%), eighteen months after the United Kingdom closed its own non-dom regime.

What draws buyers, what holds them back, and the one change they ask for

Lifestyle and climate is the draw for 66% of respondents (72% of international ones), ahead of family or heritage ties (31%), expected capital growth (23%) and safety and stability (23%). Residency or a Golden Visa motivates 13% and the tax regime 11%; among international respondents those shares rise to 18% and 14%.

Obstacles have moved from tax to price and process. Price levels (27%), personal circumstances (27%) and the quality of available supply (25%) lead, followed by geopolitical uncertainty (22%) and legal process and bureaucracy (19%). Taxation, the leading obstacle in the 2025 report, is cited by 10% (6% of international respondents); interest rates by 12%, consistent with a market that buys with its own capital.

Greece is chosen in comparison. 63% of international respondents weigh at least one other country, up from 52%, with Italy named by 23%, France by 10% and Switzerland, Spain and the UAE by 6% each. Greeks are the most committed: 66% consider Greece alone.

Asked for the single change that would make Greece an easier place to buy, 148 respondents answered in their own words. Nearly half (47%) ask for a faster, simpler and more predictable process, from building permits to legal certainty; 16% for lower or simpler taxes and transaction costs; 9% for better supply, prices and infrastructure; 8% for a completed cadastre and digital property records; 7% for consistency in Golden Visa and residency rules; 4% for access to financing.

Supply is patient. Among respondents who own property for sale, 35% would hold their price after a year on the market, 26% would adjust it and 26% would change advisor or strategy.

Comment: Savvas Savvaidis, President & CEO, Greece Sotheby's International Realty

"Greece has moved from discovery to conviction. A year ago our respondents saw a destination with promise; this year they see a market whose prices they expect to rise while their own markets soften. The British result is the clearest signal: a buyer group that approached Greece with caution in 2025 now leads every measure of confidence.

"Reaching this audience is the hardest part of the exercise. In a market the size of Greece, 249 completed responses from high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals come only through a network of trust built over a decade. That is why this survey stands alone in the Greek luxury market, and why its findings carry weight.

"The second message carries equal weight. Buyers who compare us with Italy, France and Spain tell us, in their own words, what would make them choose Greece: faster procedures, a complete cadastre and rules that stay in place. These are competitiveness issues, and they are within our reach. The capital is ready; half of our respondents intend to buy within two years, most of them with their own funds. The task for Greece is to make the process match the appetite."

Notes to editors

Methodology. Voices of Affluence 2026 was fielded from 17 September to 20 October 2026 to the proprietary database of Greece Sotheby's International Realty: around 14,300 pre-qualified contacts with a proven interest in Greek luxury real estate as buyers or sellers. The anonymous, bilingual questionnaire produced 249 unique completed responses from 28 countries (42% resident in Greece, 58% abroad), with a margin of error of ±6%. The 2025 edition gathered 253 responses between 4 and 22 September 2025. Voices of Affluence remains the only survey of its kind on the Greek luxury property market: in a market of Greece's size, respondents of this tier can be assembled only through a network cultivated over many years.

The 2026 questionnaire separates drivers from barriers, asks about buying and selling on separate five-point scales, splits the Athens Riviera from Athens City, extends the price bands to €20M and above, and adds questions on timing, purpose, financing, property type and seller behaviour. Year-on-year comparisons are drawn only where the questions match. Country results for the United Kingdom (27 respondents), the United States (26), Germany (14), Switzerland (13) and Italy (10) are indicative. The full report, including country deep dives, is available from the press contact below.

About Greece Sotheby's International Realty. Greece Sotheby's International Realty is the exclusive affiliate of Sotheby's International Realty in Greece, representing luxury residential property across Athens, the Greek islands and the mainland. The firm has published market research since 2022. Voices of Affluence, launched in 2025, is the first and only annual survey of high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth sentiment on Greek luxury real estate.

Press contact
Greece Sotheby's International Realty
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Tel. +30 210 968 1070 • enquiries@sothebysrealty.gr • sothebysrealty.gr