Vourvourou | €1.4 million ($1.47 million)
A detached house near the beach in Vourvourou’s gated ‘settlement of professors’
Built on a hillside in the seaside village of Vourvourou, this four-bedroom, four-bathroom house is in the Settlement of Professors, a gated community built as a cooperative for academics from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in the 1960s. Now a development of about 150 homes, the area maintains its wide streets and treed landscapes. Professors still own most of its houses.
Vourvourou includes nine small islands, all within about 20 minutes by boat. Myrsini Beach on Diaporos, the largest island, is nicknamed “Hawaii” for its azure waters and white sands. Vourvourou has small shops and a few restaurants, including the diner-style Anchor Food Bar. For supermarkets, medical services and dining, most locals drive to Nikiti, an ancient settlement turned beach resort about 10 miles west. Mount Itamos, a popular trekking destination, is about 10 miles south. Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, is about 60 miles north.
Size: 1,991 square feet
Price per square foot: $738
Indoors: The two-story house was built in 1972 and bought by a German-Greek couple in 2017. Their renovations, completed in 2023, include tiled floors throughout the home, accents of rough Lakoma stone from Halkidiki, and a rich color palette on the walls.
Each level of the house is configured as an independent unit, with open-plan living, dining and kitchen areas. The kitchens feature Miele appliances. Because the house is built on a slope, there is an entrance at the front and an upper-level entrance at the back.
One of the two lower-level bedrooms, painted pink, includes a walkout to the grounds. There are two en suite bathrooms on this floor — one features green tiles, white fixtures and a bidet, along with a walkout to a small terrace. Upstairs, the primary bedroom is painted saffron, with blue fabric billowing across the ceiling. Both upper-level bedrooms have en suite bathrooms. Furniture is available by separate negotiation.
Outdoor space: The rolling half-acre plot includes pine, phoenix and olive trees. There are covered decks in the front and back of the house. The beach, on the Bay of Vourvourou, is about 200 feet from the home.
Taxes: Annual property taxes total €300 ($315), while maintenance fees in the Settlement of Professors total €1,500 ($1,575) a year. Most foreigners can buy property in Greece without restrictions. Buying property usually involves paying a 3 percent broker commission, 3 percent transfer tax, 2 percent notary and title transfer, and an additional 1 percent for a lawyer, if one is engaged. Short-term rentals are permitted in Vourvourou.
Contact: Efi Zikou | Engel & Völkers Thessaloniki | +30-231-231-6500
Thermi | €1.5 million ($1.57 million)
A contemporary home with custom-made furniture, a spa and no interior doors
After decades in the Britain, a Greek-born architect and her British husband returned to Thessaloniki to renovate this three-bedroom, four-bathroom house in the southern suburb of Thermi. She had owned the home since 1994, and the two-year redesign was completed in 2023. Stripped to the studs, the house was reconfigured with glass walls, large windows, skylights and an open plan that forgoes doors on rooms.
Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, is eight miles north. Thermi Environmental Park, a sports and hiking area created from a former waste disposal site, is just northeast of the home. The Mediterranean Cosmos mall, with about 200 stores, is about two miles west. Thessaloniki Airport, the international air hub for northern Greece, is four miles southwest.
Size: 3,304 square feet
Price per square foot: $475
Indoors: The house opens to a soaring atrium with marble floors, a glass waterfall wall and a skylight that can open and close. The atrium features a tiny bar with backlit glass cabinets. A glass wall divides the atrium from the dining room, which has a long walnut table and six leather-upholstered chairs. The main floor includes a guest bathroom with a green ceramic wash basin and Op Art-inspired floral wallpaper.
On the second floor, a landing gets sunlight from dual skylights. The primary bedroom, which does not have a door, features hand-painted gray walls and a custom-made bed frame with orange upholstery. A stand-alone tub sits near the foot of the bed. The main bathroom includes a large shower with an Asian-inspired mural. Stairs from the shower lead directly to a small office area. Two more bedrooms share a bathroom with recessed ceiling lights, gray tiles and countertops, and a square white bathtub. Furniture was custom-designed for the home and is included in the sale.
The kitchen takes up much of the home’s underground level, along with a spa with a massage area. Its sauna and steam room were designed by the Greek bath company Acrilan. The kitchen was custom-built with Neolith stone countertops and features curved ceiling fixtures and a wide marble island. There is also a small family room on this level.
Heating units throughout the house are concealed behind walls.
Outdoor space: The property, on a 0.1-acre lot, has a blue-tiled swimming pool and a gray concrete deck in front. The owners designed the exterior to withstand extreme weather conditions, cladding it with Resopal Woods high-pressure laminates. A walkout near the primary bedroom leads to a terrace overlooking the back of the house.
Costs: Annual property taxes were not made available. The annual property tax in Greece, called the Uniform Real Estate Property Tax, is calculated based on factors including a property’s location, area, use, age, floors and number of facades.
Contact: Ioanna Paloka | Kentriki-Savills | +30-693-689-0744
Nikiti | €1.7 million ($1.78 million)
A beachfront home on 1.4 acres with its own olive grove
Built in 1978, this sprawling beachfront home occupies 1.4 acres near Nikiti, about 60 miles southeast of Thessaloniki. While Nikiti is a popular summer destination for tourists from Central Europe, the Balkans and Israel, the home’s Greek sellers are year-round residents. The property includes a main house, an equipped picnic hut, a storage shed and a small seaside sauna.
One of the largest villages in Sinthonia, one of three peninsulas that make up the Halkidiki region, Nikiti began as a monastery in the Middle Ages. Its Old Town section, about a mile from the home, features centuries-old Macedonian-style houses that contrast with newer construction in the rest of the city. Nearby monuments include remains of the fifth-century Sofronios Basilica, the region’s oldest early-Christian church. The village offers easy access to supermarkets, medical care, popular restaurants and professional services.
Size: 2,152 square feet
Price per square foot: $827
Indoors: The ground floor includes a carpeted open dining room and a sunken living room with a fireplace. The kitchen has white cabinets and blue-tiled floors. There is one bedroom on the main floor. Five more bedrooms upstairs share a single bathroom. One of the bedrooms offers a walkout to a small terrace. Furniture is available by separate negotiation.
Outdoor space: The front of the main house features a large terrace. The clear blue waters of the Toroneos Gulf are a minute’s walk from the front door. On the beach, the owners built a small sauna and changing room.
The property’s lush 1.4-acre plot is anchored by three ancient pine trees. The owners planted 33 olive trees which yielded nearly 40 gallons of extra virgin olive oil last year. In a small garden, they also cultivate apricots, tomatoes and peppers.
A wood-and-stone hut has its own oven and refrigerator. The property also includes a large storage shed.
Costs: Annual property taxes are €300 ($315).
Contact: Efi Zikou | Engel & Völkers Thessaloniki | +30-231-231-6500
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