Chalkidiki: 8 out of 10 planned real estate sales to Russians remained on ‘paper’ due to war

It is estimated that, due to the war in Ukraine, almost eight out of ten real estate sales agreements in Halkidiki, which were “in the works” with Russian buyers, remained on the “papers”, mainly due to the restrictions on the transfer of money to Europe. At the same time, transactions with prospective buyers from Ukraine and Moldova have been minimized. However, there are quite a few Ukrainians who, after the Russian invasion, now live in properties that they had already acquired in the area in previous years, with the result that cars with Ukrainian number plates are not an unusual sight on the streets of Halkidiki, especially in Kassandra, its first “foot”.

Speaking to APE-MPE, the president of the Association of Realtors N. Halkidiki Grigoris Stivachtaris describes the above picture. “The war has greatly affected business with prospective buyers from Russia, Ukraine, but also Moldova, which is also strongly affected by this situation due to its proximity to the war zone. Many deals with Russians, which were already in the works, as it is estimated that after this year’s Easter only two out of ten of these transactions were completed, and this either because the money had already been introduced into Greece before the war or because it arrived through other countries, such as the United Kingdom” , estimates Mr. Stivachtaris, pointing out that the Russians are the ones who traditionally purchase large and expensive properties in Halkidiki.

In the meantime, the Balkans – respectively Bulgarians, Romanians, Serbs and residents of North Macedonia – remain the nationalities with the largest presence in the real estate market of Halkidiki, buying properties either as holiday homes or for commercial use, while on the contrary the trend continues several Greeks to “separate” their second homes in the resorts of the area in recent years, for financial and other reasons (although in the new purchases and sales the shares of foreigners and citizens are equally distributed, 50%-50%). Chalkidiki has slowly begun to attract the interest of American buyers as well, but since this trend is still in its infancy, it is currently not possible to accurately determine the type of real estate that this particular nationality prefers.

Luxury villas for the Russians, cheaper apartments for the Ukrainians and commercial properties for the Balkans

According to Mr. Stivahtaris, Russians are traditionally interested in the luxury villas of Halkidiki, which are “on the wave”, the cost of which can vary in the range of 500,000-1,500,000 euros, depending on the area, age of the property, necessity ( or not) of renovation, plot area and direct (or not) access to the beach. These properties are mainly acquired ready-made, with the “key in hand”, while they are used mainly as holiday homes, without being particularly interested in commercial exploitation. Cheaper properties – again for owner-occupancy – seem to be desired by Ukrainians and Moldovans, who prefer, for example, apartments, worth 50,000 to 120,000 euros.

The commercial demon appears stronger in the Balkans. According to Mr. Stivahtaris, there are many – and significantly increased in number compared to the past – Romanian buyers, who acquire small houses or even large plots of land, on which they can build, either houses or rooms for rent, with the aim of their commercial exploitation through the attraction of their counterparts in Halkidiki. The Bulgarians are also looking for properties that can be turned into hotels or already have this use, while the market in the area is still of interest to the Serbs and the residents of North Macedonia, according to Mr. Stivahtaris.

Areas of the first “leg” such as Playa, Flogita, Kalyves and Nikiti attract the most interest from the Balkan side (in general, the available properties in Kassandra, although few, are comparatively more than those in the second “leg” , Sithonia or the third one, the Athos Peninsula), while especially the case of Nikita has developed into a phenomenon of nationwide scope in terms of the rate of reconstruction, as the president of the brokers points out, underlining that in proportion to its population, the area is definitely in the top five in the country, in terms of the number of building permits issued. The building orgasm creates a very strong pressure on its infrastructures, which already in the summers serve much larger populations than those for which they are made.

The infrastructure, the cost derailment and …the caravans

Mr. Stivachtaris also talks about another “headache”, which affects the brokers in Halkidiki, many of whom are also contractors: the steep increase in construction costs, which destroys the profit margins of professionals in the sector or burdens them with unexpected losses. For many properties, which were still under construction in 2021, contracts of sale were signed based on the significantly lower prices of building materials, which existed at the time. Their construction, however, was completed with significantly overpriced building materials, derailing their costs, with nothing the builders could do about it as they were bound by contracts. Although this problem does not only concern Halkidiki, but the whole of Greece (and not only), it proves to be very damaging for areas with intense reconstruction, such as Nikiti for example.

Another, rather unexpected problem, is related – according to Mr. Stivahtaris – to the … overpopulation of caravans of all types by Balkans, who “set them up” either on plots they have bought or in places that are not private, as a result of natural environment to be under pressure and the aesthetics of the neighborhoods a blow, as he describes. “Many times now we hear comments and complaints about caravans from our existing or potential customers,” he says.

Source: AMPE