Prices of luxury homes in Athens see 4th largest increase among 30 cities worldwide

Athens claimed the fourth spot for fastest-rising luxury property prices globally in the first half of this year, according to a report from Savills, a British real estate consulting company.

With gains of 3.5% in the six months through June, the Greek capital was only behind Lisbon, Amsterdam and Madrid. Behind these European cities in fifth place, came Dubai, with a growth rate of 2.9%.

In southern Europe prime prices are being driven by a lack of supply, and American buyers have become a “key prospective buyer base,” the report said, “thanks to a comparatively strong dollar and a growing interest in the lifestyle on offer.”

“People say they want a plan B,” immigration attorney Jean-Francois Harvey of Harvey Law Group told Realtor.com. “They are worried about political instability.”

Across all 30 cities analyzed by Savills, prime residential property prices “remained resilient over the first half of 2024,” recording an average growth of 0.8% and outperforming the 0.6% growth predicted for the year as a whole.

As regards rental rates in this year’s first half, at the top of the cities with the biggest increases is Lisbon again with an increase of 7.5%, followed by Dubai and Bangkok. In Athens, the rental prices of luxury homes grew by 4.6%. Across all 30 cities, rental rates witnessed an average rise of 2.2%.

Looking ahead, metros in southern Europe can expect the outlook to remain sunny.

“The ongoing supply-demand mismatch for high-end residential product is projected to fuel price growth in European cities such as Amsterdam,” Savills World Research associate director Kelcie Sellers noted, Mansion Global reported. “Lisbon and Barcelona, where 2% to 3.9% is forecast in the second half of 2024.”