Top 10 locations in Greece, where the profit from daily rent grew the most

Profit from short-term rentals in Greece over the past two years has grown stronger in locations less popular with tourists – analysts of AirDNA, a service that processes ads published on the Airbnb portal, reached this conclusion.

To make the rating, AirDNA specialists used RevPAR (revenue per available room) indicator – it reflects the landlord’s income per month excluding maintenance and tax costs (the cost of daily rent multiplied by the occupancy of the apartment or house per month). Analysts calculated how the rental income in all locations in Greece, where more than 100 Airbnb ads were published, changed over the two years: from July 2016 to June 2018. The leaders of the rating were the island of Antiparos, dim Mesini and the island of Kythira, where the income of tenants grew by 105%, 84% and 71% respectively. At the same time, in traditionally popular tourist destinations, landlords’ income grew much less: on Santorini island – by 32%, on Crete – by 25%, in Athens – by 17%.

However, if you look at absolute values, the picture loses its appeal. So, in monetary terms, the profit in most of the presented locations is low. As of July 2018, six of 10 RevPAR markets are lower than 550 euros per month, whereas, for example, in Athens and in Crete it is about 1 thousand euros, and in Santorini – almost 4 thousand.

Andiparos is a small island in the composition of the Cyclades archipelago kokixx / Depositphotos
Another distinctive feature of the dozens is low occupancy. In July, one of the hottest months on the short-term rental market in the Mediterranean, only 20–30% of houses and apartments were loaded in seven locations out of 10. In Igoumenitsa and Katerini, this figure was about 40%, which is still significantly lower than in Crete (50%), Santorini (76%) and in Athens (80%).

Dim Mesini is located in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula znm666 / Depositphotos
The offer in the locations that made the top ten of the rating cannot be called redundant. Nine out of 10 locations have only 150–200 objects for rent. For comparison: in Athens, 7 thousand apartments and houses are leased on Airbnb, in Crete – over 12 thousand.
Kithira is the southernmost of the Ionian Islands. Panos_Karas / Depositphotos

While foreign investors bypass the markets from this rating. According to the official agency of Greece, Enterprise Greece, as of May 2018, 30% of foreigners who buy property in Greece under the “golden visa” program acquire houses and apartments in Piraeus, 26% in Athens and 21% in Palini (eastern suburbs of Athens ). The remaining ones choose large cities in Central Macedonia (Polygyros, Thessaloniki), on the islands of Crete (Chania, Heraklion, Agios Nikolaos), Peloponnesus (Corinth) and Corfu. Russian investors aimed at obtaining a Greek residence permit most often buy property in Polygyros (32% of applicants).

Despite the less impressive growth in rental income, international investors more often choose real estate in Athens. As Alina Churikova, project manager for Tranio in Greece, explains, the capital shows the highest percentage of occupancy on the short-term rental market during the year: “In Athens, unlike resort locations, tourists travel in the winter, so real estate works here without a break for low season, and investors get more attractive returns than any other place in Greece. ”