Private Greek Island Available for Purchase for $14 Million
An uninhabited private island located off the coast of Greece is set to go up for auction in September, with an initial asking price of $14 million. This announcement was made yesterday by the company overseeing the sale.
The island, part of the Spalathronisia archipelago, is situated just 500 meters from the Halkidiki peninsula, a well-known tourist destination in northern Greece. This sale is one of the latest in a series of transactions by Greek landowners affected by the country’s ongoing financial crisis.
The auction of this 10.4-hectare Aegean island is expected to surpass the sale earlier this year of six private Ionian islands to the Emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, who reportedly purchased them for 8.5 million euros.
In recent years, there has been an increase in the sale of privately owned Greek islands, driven by a hike in property taxes implemented by the government in an effort to replenish state funds after a prolonged economic downturn.
Notable recent transactions include the purchase of the Greek resort island of Skorpios by the daughter of Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev in April. Skorpios is famous for being the site where shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis married Jackie Kennedy in the 1960s. While the sale price was not disclosed, Greek media outlets have estimated the value of Skorpios at over 100 million euros.
Meanwhile, the Greek government has opted for long-term leasing arrangements rather than outright sales of its island properties.
