Villa Prices Dropping on Santorini and Mykonos Islands

Santorini, Greece.

On the back of dropping arrivals and bookings, Greece’s two traditionally popular islands Mykonos and Santorini are now seeing the prices of villas drop by as much as 50 percent, according to data released recently by E- Real Estates Panhellenic Network of Real Estate.

According to the report, the prices of villas on the two Greek islands, which have been in the news recently due to dropping demand, dropped by 30 to 50 percent over last year.

Indicatively, the average rate for a villa on Mykonos now starts at 2,034 euros for six nights compared to 2,880 euros last year. On Santorini, where the decline is around 50 percent, villas go for an average 2,539 euros down from 5,520 euros a year ago.

At the same time, arrivals to the two destinations are down by as much as 20 percent compared to 2019 levels, while April air traffic through Mykonos airport was down by 16.3 percent over pre-Covid levels while other regional airports marked increases.

Mykonos Airport. Photo © Greek Travel Pages (GTP)

Late last year, demand for luxury villas in Greece broke all records with 26.3 percent of all purchases made on the islands of Mykonos and Corfu, found Greece Sotheby’s International Realty.

“Pre-bookings are at high levels for the season but still slightly down compared to last year. The asking prices are down by as much as 50% compared to last year,” confirms Themistoklis Bakas, Panhellenic E-Real Estates Network president.

Bakas attributes the decline to a significant increase in asking prices for independent villas with private pool in the 2021-2022 period which in many cases exceeded 2019 levels.

He went on to add that demand this year has changed. Pre-booking levels for villas for four to six guests with private pool in the center of Mykonos are at 88% for June, 87% for July and 85% for August.

At the same time however, Mykonos was the top most searched for international destination by US travelers seeking Airbnb accommodation in the first quarter of the year, according to the Airbnb 2023 Summer report.

Mykonos, Greece.

An indicative cost for six-night stay in a 190m2 home in June in the center of Mykonos starts at 2,034 euros, 3,815 euros in July and 4.360 euros in August.

Meanwhile, the waning demand for Mykonos is also evident in April turnover for accommodation and food and beverage (F&B) services. While most destinations saw increases in April turnover, Mykonos marked the smallest increase at 7.3 percent.

Among others, also impacting the Greek island’s reputation over the last few months is the issue a violent assault on an archaeologist overseeing illegal construction activity outside zoning areas and the high fines imposed. At the same time, one of Mykonos’ popular hot spots Nammos on Psarrou Beach is being torn down for shoreline regulations violations.