Fed up with Britain's
icy blasts and soaring house prices? Then why not bask in the sun and paddle
the azure seas from the shores of your own Greek island. You may have to share
living space with goats, but with more than 20 Greek islands for sale, Brits can
live out their Mamma Mia! Fantasies for the price of a central London flat.
Greek islands traditionally pass down
through the generations, and this is the first time that Little Lesbos, which
boasts clear water bays, sandy beaches and abundance of vegetation, has been
for sale.
Other islands in the
Vladi portfolio include the olive-groved St Athanasios in the Gulf of Corinth,
at €1.6m (just under £1.3m), and the "paradise island" Atokos, in the
Ionian sea, which at around €45m (£36m), has dramatic cliffs and its own flock
of sheep.
Visa benefits, low prices and "a good
tax framework" are behind the increase in interest, which is prompting
further sales, experts say.
Elsewhere, property companies such as
Private Islands Online and Savills are targeting the super-rich. Skorpios, once
owned by shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, was snapped up by Ekaterina
Rybolovleva, the 25-year-old daughter of Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev,
for a reported £100m, while the former emir of Qatar, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa
Al-Thani, bought six islands, known as the Islet of Oxia for a reported £5.5m.
Many are selling islands in response to the
ongoing financial crisis in Europe, said Farhad Vladi, of Vladi Private
Islands. Greek property prices have fallen significantly in the last five
years, by as much as 30 per cent from pre-crisis levels.
"People have less income and are
looking for other sources to liquidate assets," said Mr Vladi. Both rich
families and poor farmers who had been hoping that real estate prices would
recover have decided to cut their losses and sell, he explained.
The fact that Athens introduced a land tax
this year, has increased the incentive for people to cash in their off-shore
asset, he added.
(Πηγή: independent.co.uk)
