Holiday homes in Crete: factors affecting the demand for second homes in Crete

This thesis examines the case of Crete, an economy significantly dependent on tourism, which developed vulnerability to the rapid development of holiday homes. The study concentrates on factors that influence the demand for holiday homes either in a positive or negative way. It is based on the research that was conducted among 75 real estate agencies and property consultants in the areas of the three biggest towns of Crete: Heraklion, Rethymno and Chania. The aim of the research was to provide post-sales analysis and to project the future of second homes in Crete. The questionnaire was chosen as the main research instrument. The data was divided into six variables: demographic, psychographic, behavioral, geographic, financial and political. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistics of frequencies and cross-tabulation including Chi-Square tests. The presentation of the results revealed existing majorities of key-role factors and examined dependencies between variables of demand. The conclusions were drawn to expose trends and structures of past demand. The results showed that for the last fifteen years most buyers were dominated by British and German consumers at the age of 50 to 65 years old, strongly motivated by Crete's warm climate and life style, but significantly discouraged by the poor level of infrastructure and services. In this light, taking into consideration the declared state of supply exceeding demand, the recommendations suggested entering new markets in the search for potential clients, improving co-operation of real estate agencies with developers, the travel and tourism sector and local authorities, and concentrating on the "consumer thinking" way of doing business. The results and forecasting provided by the participants of the research showed that the second home market in Crete bears a potential for improvements, strengthening of competiveness and further development.