A survey conducted by Sotheby’s International Realty Greece for the second time, titled “Voices of Affluence”, reveals that despite a weakening local market, high-net-worth buyers have more confidence in luxury properties in Greece than they did a year ago. The survey covered 249 respondents from 28 countries, among whom 57% expect property prices in Greece to rise over the next 12 months, compared to 44% in 2025; the proportion expecting prices to fall has decreased from 20% to 14%.
International respondents expect Greek housing prices to rise by 53%, which is significantly higher than their expectations for an improvement in their own country's real estate market (19%); 42% believe that their country's market is weaker than it was a year ago. Half of all respondents plan to buy a house in Greece within two years, and 56% indicate that they will pay in full with their own funds.
This survey is currently the only systematic study that reflects the attitudes of high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals towards luxury real estate in Greece. For a market of such scale as Greece, it is extremely difficult to reach this target audience: the 249 valid responses come from a proprietary database that has been established over a period of ten years and contains approximately 14,300 qualified contacts. This series of surveys stands out in the Greek luxury real estate brokerage market.
Key Findings Overview
- Half of the respondents (51%) have bought or sold property in Greece over the past five years.
- One-third (33%) plan to buy a house within 12 months; half (50%) plan to buy a house within 24 months.
- 56% of people will purchase a home entirely with their own funds; 5% rely on mortgage loans.
- When asked "what needs to change the most to make it easier for Greeks to buy a house," nearly half (47%) mentioned the speed and predictability of the process, 16% mentioned taxes and transaction costs, and 9% mentioned supply, prices, and infrastructure.
Emotion: More confident about prices, with stronger faith in Greece than in one's own domestic market.
All groups have a more firm expectation regarding the prices of luxury homes in Greece. 57% expect prices to rise (of which 9% believe the increase will be significant), 30% expect them to remain stable, and 14% expect them to fall. In other words, 86% of people believe that prices will remain stable or rise. Those with the highest confidence are Greek respondents (61% expect a rise) and British respondents (70%), while the proportion of American respondents who expect a fall has dropped from 30% to 8%.
More than three-quarters of the respondents maintain confidence in the Greek economy. 39% expect the Greek economy to improve in the next 12 months, up from 27% previously; 41% expect it to remain stable. The views at both extremes are more pronounced: 20% now anticipate an economic deterioration (compared to 17% in 2025), with 30% of these coming from Greek respondents, while among international respondents, this proportion is one-eighth.
International respondents compare Greece to the weaker economic conditions of their own countries. 42% believe that their country's real estate market is in a worse state than it was a year ago, 34% expect it to continue to weaken, while only 19% expect an improvement. Personal financial situations remain stable: 48% indicate that their situation has improved over the past year, and 59% expect it to continue to improve in the coming year.
There is a broad and clear intention to purchase property. On a new five-point scale, 27% of respondents rated the possibility of buying a home in Greece within 12 months as “very likely” or “definitely certain,” while another 24% considered it “moderately likely.” Among those who identified themselves as buyers, these proportions rose to 34% and 61%, respectively. One-third plan to buy a home within 12 months, and half plan to do so within 24 months. Even among the 34 respondents who expect prices to fall, 53% still consider buying a home to be at least “moderately likely,” which confirms the lifestyle-driven demand identified in the 2025 version.
Who is buying, and where are they buying it?
Greek local residents account for 42% of the sample (33% in 2025), and they are more often property owners: 71% of them identify as sellers, or both buyers and sellers at the same time. International respondents make up 58% of the total sample, mainly from the UK (11%), the US (10%), Germany (6%), Switzerland (5%), Italy (4%), and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (3%). Australia and Canada also make it into the top ten.
Three-fifths of the respondents are 55 years of age or older. The budgets mainly fall within the ranges of 1 to 2 million euros (56%) and 2 to 5 million euros (33%); 11% plan to spend more than 5 million euros. International respondents have higher budgets, with 54% targeting over 2 million euros, among whom 49% wish to buy villas; Greek respondents prefer apartments and penthouses (39%) as well as development land (24%).
The purpose of purchasing a home varies between two groups of people. International respondents mainly purchased for vacation homes (44%), with 14% mentioning relocation or tax residency arrangements, which includes the Non-Dom system. Greek respondents, on the other hand, were more inclined to buy for rental income (30%), as family inheritance assets (20%), or as their primary residence (18%).
Destinations are also expanding. Among international respondents, the Ionian Islands lead (26%), followed by the Cyclades (20%), the Athens Riviera (15%), and Peloponnese (12%). In 2025, the interest of American buyers was mainly focused on the Athens Riviera and the Cyclades, but now it has expanded to include the Peloponnese and the Ionian Islands as well. Local Greek buyers, however, still prefer areas closer to the capital: from the center of Athens and its northern suburbs to the Riviera, Athens attracts 56% of their interest, followed by the Cyclades (15%).
The changes among British buyers are the most noticeable. 56% of British respondents expect the Greek economy to improve (compared to 20% in 2025), 70% expect prices to rise (previously 44%), and 41% believe it is "very likely" or "certain" to buy a house within 12 months (previously 24%). Relocation or tax residency are the most frequently mentioned reasons (26%), and this is 18 months after the UK abolished its tax regime for non-local residents.
What buyers value, what concerns them, and the only change they require
Lifestyle and climate are the reasons why 66% of respondents chose Greece (72% among international respondents), followed by family or kinship ties (31%), expected capital appreciation (23%), and safety and stability (23%). Residence rights or golden visas are attractive to 13% of people, and the tax system is attractive to 11% of people; among international respondents, these figures rise to 18% and 14% respectively.
Barriers have shifted from taxation to prices and processes. Price levels (27%), personal circumstances (27%), and the quality of available housing (25%) rank at the top, followed by geopolitical uncertainties (22%) as well as legal procedures and bureaucratic red tape (19%). Taxation, which was identified as the primary barrier in the 2025 report, is now only mentioned by 10% of respondents (6% among international respondents); interest rates are mentioned by 12%, which is consistent with a market that relies heavily on own funds for home purchases.
Greece was chosen in the comparison. 63% of international respondents would consider at least another country, up from the previous 52%; among them, 23% mentioned Italy, 10% mentioned France, while Switzerland, Spain, and the United Arab Emirates each accounted for 6%. Local Greek respondents were the most determined: 66% of them only considered Greece.
When asked "What needs to change the most to make it easier for Greeks to buy a house," 148 respondents answered in their own words. Nearly half (47%) hoped for a faster, simpler, and more predictable process, including everything from building permits to legal certainty; 16% desired lower or simpler taxes and transaction costs; 9% wanted better availability of housing, prices, and infrastructure; 8% hoped for improved land registration and digital property records; 7% preferred consistency in golden visa and residency rules; 4% hoped for easier access to financing.
Supplies are still slow. Among those respondents who own properties for sale, 35% said the price would remain the same even after a year on the market, 26% would adjust the price, and 26% would change their agent or strategy.
Comment: Greece Sotheby's International Realty President and CEO Savvas Savvaidis
Greece has moved from being “discovered” to “reaching a consensus.” A year ago, our respondents viewed this place as a potential destination; this year, however, they consider it a market where prices will continue to rise, while their own domestic markets are weakening. The results of respondents from the UK best illustrate this point: the group of buyers who were still cautious about Greece in 2025 now leads in all indicators of confidence.
Reaching this audience is the most difficult part of the entire process. In a market of Greece's size, 249 valid responses from high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals can only be obtained through a trust network that has been built over a decade. This is also why this survey is unique in the Greek luxury housing market, and it explains its significance.
"The second piece of information is equally important. Those buyers who compare us to Italy, France, and Spain have told us in their own words what would make them choose Greece: faster processes, complete land registration, and stable, unchanging rules. These are all competitive advantages that are within our capabilities. The capital is already ready; half of the respondents intend to buy a property within two years, and most of them will use their own funds. What Greece needs to do is to ensure that its processes keep up with these demands."
Editor's Note
Method description. Voices of Affluence From September 17 to October 20, 2026, a survey was conducted among the proprietary database of Greece Sotheby's International Realty, which contains approximately 14,300 contacts who have been pre-screened and have a clear interest in purchasing and selling luxury real estate in Greece. A total of 249 independent and valid responses were received from 28 countries through anonymous, bilingual questionnaires (42% residing in Greece, 58% residing overseas), with a margin of error of ±6%. In 2025, 253 responses were collected from September 4 to 22. Voices of Affluence This remains the only survey of its kind in the Greek luxury real estate market: in a market of this scale in Greece, such a group of respondents can only be gathered through a network that has been cultivated over many years.
The 2026 survey separates driving factors from obstacles, asking about buying and selling intentions on a five-point scale separately. It also distinguishes between the Athens Riviera and the city of Athens, expands the price range to 20 million euros and above, and adds questions regarding timing, purpose, financing, property type, and seller behavior. Comparative analyses are only conducted when the questions are consistent across all groups. The national results for the UK (27 respondents), the US (26 respondents), Germany (14 respondents), Switzerland (13 respondents), and Italy (10 respondents) are for reference only. For the complete report, including in-depth analyses of each country, please contact the news contact below.
Regarding Greece Sotheby's International RealtyGreece Sotheby's International Realty is Sotheby's International Realty's exclusive partner in Greece, representing high-end residential properties in Athens, the Greek islands, and mainland Greece. The company has been releasing market research since 2022. Voices of Affluence was launched in 2025 and is the first and only annual survey targeting the sentiment of high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals regarding luxury real estate in Greece.
News contact: Greece Sotheby's International Realty, 11 Voukourestiou Street, Athens 10671, Greece, phone +30 210 968 1070, email [email protected], sothebysrealty.gr
