20 years in Halkidiki Real Estate 1999 – 2019!
The most practical place to start looking at the property market in Halkidiki is the most affordable option, which are the Halkidiki apartments for sale.
There are a variety of different styles when it comes to apartments. If you are looking for something very modern and stylish there are more options to be found on the east coast of Kassandra in the trendy tourist resorts of Pefkohori, Hanioti and Polichrono whereas in towns such as Afitos the apartments are mostly classic stone buildings in keeping with the local traditional architecture.
The vast majority of the Halkidiki apartments for sale are located within the central building zone of a town, meaning they are usually within 500 metres of the sea and have all amenities nearby.
Price per square metre ranges from 1300€ for second-hand, older, basic options, which often need renovation and modernisation up to 2000€/m² for Halkidiki apartments for sale in a good condition. The cheapest options are not usually very close to the beach and don’t have any sea view. New-build Halkidiki apartments for sale start from 2400-2500€/m². Of course, in highly sought after resorts and prime locations such as on the first line, directly on the beach it is not unusual to pay over 3000€/m².
The prices of Halkidiki apartments for sale are determined mostly by their condition, whether it has a sea view, the distance from the sea and also their location, that is, the popularity of the resort because there is a premium to be paid to own a property in areas that are more developed, in demand and have a sandy beach such as Hanioti on the east coast of Kassandra.
Sometimes Halkidiki apartments for sale include extras such as private parking spaces, furniture/appliances, heating/air conditioning, which will also increase the value.
Another factor, which influences the price is the level, the ground floor being the cheapest followed by first floor and the second floor apartments, so those on the top floor of a building, which usually have the best views are normally the most expensive.
We do not have high-rise apartment buildings in this region. There are only Halkidiki apartments for sale on the ground, first and second floors. The maximum number of floors in a Halkidiki apartment building is 3 and second floor apartments are always in older buildings which were constructed with a building license issued before 2011. Following a change in building regulations in 2011, Halkidiki apartment buildings can no longer exceed 2 storeys above ground, however in order to maximise the size and number of units developers can build it is common to find a ground floor apartment with a “duplex” first-floor apartment above, which has 2 levels connected by internal stairs. This clever layout utilises the otherwise wasted roof space for bedrooms and a bathroom.
In Kassandra the most expensive places are Hanioti and Afitos, followed by Siviri, Pefkohori and Polichrono, Kallithea and then Nea Skioni, Kriopigi and Fourka.
On the middle peninsula Sithonia, the most developed towns of Nikiti and Neos Marmaras have the highest property prices, and these resorts are where you will also find the majority of apartments. Smaller towns and villages in other parts of the Sithonia peninsula mainly have larger properties available for sale.
The size quoted is often an approximation initially, usually according to the owner, but will be officially confirmed by an engineer during the conveyancing process prior to transfer of ownership. When referring to the size, the balconies are never included. Our advice is to see the space first and decide if it feels big enough for your needs. A good layout, with little wasted space can often be more important than the numerical size. There are many apartments for example with large open fireplaces that take up a lot of space in the living area when they are not used. This is quite a common feature in older properties built at a time when there was a need to have a fireplace because the buyers were mostly Greek living in nearby cities who could visit Halkidiki for the weekend in the winter. Nowadays many owners are having fireplaces removed to create more living space and use air-conditioning invertors for short-term heating.
Most of the Halkidiki apartments for sale have one or two bedrooms. There are some small studio apartments, which are an open-plan space of around 30m² with a bathroom, ideal base for a couple. It’s almost impossible to find an apartment in Halkidiki with 3 or more bedrooms. One-bedroom apartments are usually 35-45m² and two bedrooms can be as compact as 45m² but a comfortable size would be around 60m2.
- A typical size for a one-bedroom Halkidiki apartment for sale is somewhere between 30 – 50m2
- Halkidiki apartments for sale with one-bedroom would normally be more affordable to buy than larger apartments
- As an investment for rental however, smaller could surprisingly be the better option for several reasons:
1. Firstly, there is greater demand to rent one-bedroom Halkidiki apartments than larger apartments because tourists logically try to keep accommodation costs down in order to have more funds to spend on enjoying activities and meals out on holiday. Tourists don’t rent an apartment to hang out at, they want somewhere clean with a modern bathroom, comfortable bed, reliable Wi-Fi and air conditioning!
2. Furthermore, a one-bedroom apartment can easily be furnished to accommodate 4 adults or a family with small children whereas even though a two-bedroom apartment could sleep 6 or more people, it wouldn’t be so comfortable when sharing one bathroom and a small balcony and it’s very rare to find a Halkidiki apartment for sale offering a second bathroom!
3. The smaller the apartment the easier, faster and cheaper it is for the host to prepare for reservations. When you are only catering for up to 4 guests you also don’t need to buy and supply as much of everything such as bed linen, towels, kitchenware, consumables etc.
4. In general, there will be lower ownership expenses especially for property tax and electricity, because the standing charges and minimum amount you have to pay each month are calculated according to the property size. If there are fewer people using an apartment, electricity and water consumption charges will also theoretically be lower as well as less wear and tear and therefore maintenance costs
5. Additionally, it’s also a much lower-risk investment in comparison with more expensive properties, you can get a better rate of return and also if you decide to sell, it is easier to find another buyer
- A larger apartment is the ideal option for a family who want their own place in the sun to stay for up to 6 months every year
- An apartment is a good starter property to get a real feel for an area before making a bigger longer-term investment and step up the property ladder onto a house or maisonette
- In comparison with maintaining a property with a garden, apartments are not as expensive to own and come with less responsibilities
In recent years the building regulations have become stricter to ensure that new constructions meet certain standards of energy efficiency, sustainability and quality. When buying a new-build property, besides a more modern design, the benefits include smaller 2-storey buildings, higher build quality with better materials requiring less maintenance, mandatory thermal insulation and provision of solar water heating resulting in lower energy costs.
As a category of Halkidiki properties, apartments have the lowest communal charges, which is a monthly fee all owners are obliged to pay to fund the maintenance and repair of any shared facilities for example external lights around the grounds or where perhaps there is a communal garden or swimming pool. In an organised apartment complex this might cost around 100- 150€ per year.
If you are thinking about buying a holiday apartment as an investment, Halkidiki apartments for sale have very good potential and are pretty low-risk because they can also be rented out during periods that you don’t use them yourselves.
The annual return on investment can achieve a minimum of 5% and more, depending on the distance to the beach, whether there is a sea view and to what standard it is furnished and equipped. Higher rental rates can be charged if you can provide a few little luxuries such as Netflix, a good coffee machine and of course fast internet! The best time of year to rent out a Halkidiki apartment is from the middle of June when the schools in Greece finish for the summer until the end of August, enabling you to still enjoy holidays yourself at the beginning and end of the season when the area is not so crowded with tourists. Halkidiki apartments for sale have the biggest market of prospective buyers of all types of Halkidiki properties so it is highly unlikely that a seller would ever sell at a loss.