Try Greece When Looking to Pair Golf and Real Estate

According to sothebysrealty.com, searches for Greece and golf lifestyle increased by 205 percent from January through July of this year, compared with the same period in 2021. Also, Savvas Savvaidis, president and chief executive of Greece Sotheby’s International Realty, said that the company had $50 million in home sales in Greece in 2022 in areas or developments where golf is a main interest, compared with $10 million in 2017.

Most of the market for golf homes in Greece is concentrated in the Peloponnese, but Glyfada, a suburb of Athens, and the island of Crete, also figure in.

Here is a look at the real estate markets in the three areas:

The Peloponnese

Located in southern Greece, the Peloponnese is a vast peninsula that covers more than 8,200 square miles. Ms. Katopis-Lykiardopulo said that the region had Tuscan-like rolling hills and olive groves and a long, scenic coastline. “It’s incredibly beautiful and definitely the heart of golf and golf homes in Greece,” she said.

Costa Navarino, in the southwest Peloponnese in the Messenia region and about a three-hour drive southwest of Athens, is a nearly 2,500-acre golf-centric development with four 18-hole courses. The Dunes Course, featuring views of mountains and tall sand dunes and designed by the German professional golfer Bernhard Langer, opened in 2010, along with the first phase of the resort. The Bay Course, designed by Robert Trent Jones II and notable for its unobstructed sea views, followed the next year.

Two more courses, designed by the Spanish professional golfer José Maria Olazábal, opened in February and have views of the Ionian Sea and Bay of Navarino. Nuno Sepúlveda, Costa Navarino’s general manager of golf, said that although the courses were private, membership was not required to play; the cost is about $240 a round. “Anyone is welcome,” he said.

Costa Navarino also has three hotels,: the Romanos, a Luxury Collection Resort; the Westin Resort Costa Navarino; and W Costa Navarino. A Mandarin Oriental is scheduled to open in 2023.