What do buyers look for

Bigger bedrooms and terraces, fireplace, wooden floors and of course parking space and storage rooms are the dominant quality features that prospective buyers are looking for in a newly built house.

Apart from those, open spaces and open kitchens (open plan or servery), are among the basic changes in today‘s quality standards, real estate agents told “Bluekey“.

With these features, a house becomes more competitive and constructors are able to overcome today’s market difficulties as to newly built homes, the cost of which is very high for an average household. However, this cost includes a clearly unquestionable improved construction.
“Buyers’ requests - in terms of property value - are separated in at least three categories”, according to real estate agents. For high incomes buyers, the required standards have hardly changed in recent years. “Apart from locations, which continue to be in the northern and southern suburbs of Athens, as well as Kolonaki, Acropolis and Lycabettus, the requested surfaces exceed 200 sq.m. with a sq.m. price between 3,000 and 5,000 euros in newly built or older buildings”.

The interest in finest locations like Kolonaki is mainly for apartments, while in other areas, like Paleo Psychiko, for land. The same goes for northern suburbs like Ekali, where the interest is for large plots - although rare-, with a sq.m. price between 2,500 and 3,000 euros.
“The above category of buyers includes mainly businessmen, shipowners, doctors and generally wealthy people. Apart from the house’s required characteristics, great importance is given to the surface of the garden. They all look for a large garden and since new constructions rarely offer that, they turn to older constructions. Also, buyers of over 1.5 million euros properties are looking for spacious bedrooms, something we also find more often in older constructions". A very common requirement is also a swimming pool. It is easily found in properties over 1.5 million euros, since most of them come with it.

A much larger buyers category is willing to spend between 800,000 and 1 million euros. These buyers are more interested in maisonettes in fine locations, than detached houses. Their main request is for a two-storey maisonette. The vast majority finds a three-level flat, even with an elevator, less functional.

Aside from that, most differentiations, compared to previous years, are found in most common apartments, of up to 250,000 euros. The housing needs of a family may not have changed these days, but prevailing prices impose the first and most important differentiation, that of surface. “Although five years ago a family of 4 chose to live in an apartment of more than 110 sq.m., today, the most common request is for 90 sq.m. Since the majority moves from larger apartments, the existence of a storage room in the basement of the building is a requirement, as well as a parking space".

A fireplace is another popular demand. Winter in Greece may not be particularly heavy, but a fireplace gives a sense of luxury, a warmer feeling and is definitely a cheaper choice than a radiator.

We also observe a revival of wooden floors, after a period of domination of tiles and marble. Wooden floors are friendlier and warmer, while enhancing the impression of luxury.

Also, changes in lifestyle, fewer outings, more home gatherings, and even less free time, work in favour of open plan or servery kitchens.

A definitely reasonable request is the larger possible terrace, since, in Greece, you can enjoy it from May to September, while roof terrace flats and attics are a new trend that is constantly rising.