American Buyers Set Their Sights on Europe
Second-home markets in Europe have seen an uptick in interest from Americans.
Second-home markets in Europe have seen an uptick in interest from Americans.
Kathryn Gamble, a Chicago veterinarian, and her husband, Texas orchestra conductor Robert Carter Austin, have been frequent visitors to Venice for more than two decades, staying in hotels or short-term rentals. They were ready to buy a home there in 2020, but Covid-19 intervened.
Now, as trans-Atlantic travel for Americans tentatively resumes, they are restarting their search.
During the couple’s most recent Venetian sojourn in 2018, they rented a palazzo on the Grand Canal, recalls Dr. Gamble. They hosted friends and family, and flew a Texas flag from the balcony. Looking ahead to ownership, they hope to recapture some of that atmosphere.
“We need to be on the water,” says the 54-year-old. “And we need to have three or four bedrooms. It’s Venice, and people will come to visit.”
Dr. Gamble and her husband, 75, recently made inquiries about a nine-bedroom, 17th-century Grand Canal palazzo listed for $11.2 million, according to Knight Frank, which is handling the sale. On the other side of the canal, a six-bedroom, 3,800-square-foot apartment in an early-20th-century building is listed for $2.7 million.
From Lisbon to the Greek islands, the Americans are back, ready to take advantage of the buyer’s market in many of Europe’s leading resort areas. There are bargains to be had at the entry and mid-levels, with prices buoyant at the top end.
In mid-June, the European Union reopened nonessential travel from the U.S., prompting a jump in property inquires, says Mark Knight, a London-based partner and head of international residential sales at the U.K.’s Knight Frank. He says the latest wave of house-hunters are especially interested in vacation homes in Italy and France, and he also has seen more calls about Lisbon. At Savills, another U.K. real-estate company, inquiries from Americans have doubled compared with this time last year, says Hugo Thistlethwayte, head of global residential operations.
Knight Frank last week released its Global Residential Cities Index for the first quarter of 2021, giving a view of price changes from the year-earlier period, when lockdowns began to take hold worldwide. It shows double-digit increases clustered in the Nordic countries and Eastern Europe, while prime European second-home destinations that had been inching toward the top in previous years—including Lisbon and Malaga on Spain’s Costa del Sol—are seeing declines.
In Venice, real-estate prices are down by 4.3% over the past year, Knight Frank shows. “It’s not like it was before,” says Giovanni Rubin de Cervin Albrizzi, a local architect. “But recently, there have been lots of French and Germans, and the Americans are starting to come just now.”
Mr. Rubin, who specializes in renovations of historic properties, says the pandemic changed his business. Instead of full-scale renovations of second homes, he is doing more partial projects on long-term rentals, where such work is done by renters in exchange for discounts.
Jeffrey Alexopulos, another Texan, is looking in Marbella. Overall prices in the Spanish coastal resort fell 10.3% from spring 2020 to 2021, says Andrea de la Hoz, senior analyst at Tinsa, a Spanish real-estate consultancy. Mr. Alexopulos says his interest was piqued by a three-bedroom Marbella apartment listed at $515,000, down from the $770,000 the owner had paid a few years ago. He attributes the fall to the drop in vacation rentals.
At the luxury end, however, purchases have surged to a level not seen before, says Christopher Clover of Panorama Properties.
He currently is selling a five bedroom, 13,364-square-foot villa in La Zagaleta, a gated Marbella-area mountain development, for $19.9 million. Earlier, a 33,500-square-foot villa on 3.4 acres in the same development, listed for $37.9 million, sold after two years on the market.
Americans, known for favoring traditional properties, are now are in line in Marbella with international preferences toward new construction, says Mr. Clover.
Mr. Alexopulos, 68, and his wife, Janet Ferrari, 55, who co-own backyard-game manufacturer Free Donkey Sports, say they see Europe as offering a better return on a second home for themselves and their London-based son. “The prices in the U.S. are crazy right now,” says Mr. Alexopulos. They recently sold an Orlando, Fla., property they owned.
Americans typically play a niche role in Southern Europe’s luxury second-home markets, which tend to be dominated by sun-hungry Northern Europeans. But they have traditionally made themselves more conspicuous at the very top of those markets.
A Knight Frank study on French markets shows Riviera prices are static at 1% increase during 2020, but they still are the country’s highest. Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, a tiny peninsula near Nice, has the country’s most expensive real estate at $3,855 a square foot.
In search of quieter or more authentic options, American looking in the area seem most interested in the so-called backcountry listings, such as a six-bedroom stone farmhouse, dating to the 18th century, a 40-minute drive from Antibes. The 2.2-acre property has an asking price of $7.4 million.
Americans should expect evolving rules for travel and viewings across Europe. Mr. Alexopulos says he and his wife—both fully vaccinated—are preparing for their trip by monitoring U.S. State Department information on Spain, as well as the Spanish health website. They also stay in touch with their airline.
In Lisbon, now a major tourist destination and second-home market, prices fell 3.8% from the first quarter of 2020 to the 2021 period, according to Knight Frank.
Newer arrivals include those in Lisbon’s growing high-tech scene, says Lindsey Elkin, co-founder of Yayem, a members club and digital platform based in greater Lisbon. Ms. Elkin, 31, a Philadelphia native, says American tech-industry expats are looking for homes in Lapa and Santos, historic districts with river views.
Vitor Almeida, a Portuguese architect with a high-end residential practice that caters to expatriates, says the pandemic brought delays to renovations but no added expenses. Last year, he completed a $1.1 million renovation of a 3,500-square-foot unit in Lisbon for Cinara Ruiz, a Brazilian entrepreneur who divides her time between Portugal and Brazil. Work included restoring the apartment’s original frescoes and adding two full baths and three half-baths to what had once been a one-bathroom home for a single family. Mrs. Ruiz, 53, bought the property for $3 million in 2019.
Americans also are showing renewed interest in Greece, one of the first European countries to welcome them back this year. According to Greece Sotheby’s International Realty, U.S. inquiries were up by 60% this spring, compared with spring 2020. Francis Michael Prantounas, sales director of Engel & Völkers Greece, says luxury prices are strong on the islands of Santorini and Mykonos, and bargains are found on Paros, an island south of Mykonos.
Prices in Mykonos—which has gone from a hippie redoubt to a gay mecca to an exclusive vacation enclave—have jumped nearly 5% over last year, says an analysis from Engel & Völkers.
Vana Verouti, a 70-year-old Greek singer and interior designer, bought an empty lot on the island’s southeast tip in 1995 and built a 3,800-square-foot villa with her now-deceased husband. Ms. Verouti—who divides her time between Athens, Mykonos and a home in Switzerland—has put her 1.7-acre property on the market for $3.1 million.
Mykonos competes with the island of Corfu for Greece’s most expensive vacation homes, says Savvas Savvaidis, of Greece Sotheby’s International Realty. He says Americans make up about 10% of Greece’s luxury market. Mykonos’s most expensive properties, he adds, tend to be on the west side, to take advantage of dramatic sunsets and easy access to Mykonos Town, as the island’s largest settlement is known.
This stylish family home combines a classic palette and finishes with a flexible floorplan
Just 55 minutes from Sydney, make this your creative getaway located in the majestic Hawkesbury region.
The enduring appeal of marble has gone into overdrive as designers explore the beauty of coloured stone to create truly inviting and indulgent interiors.
Like all design movements, the return of marble to interiors started quietly enough with the rise of ‘greige’ as the dominant colour palette. A warm version of grey, for a while there, you could barely step into a well-considered residential space without being confronted with the ubiquitous neutral tone.
However, to be successful, this look depended on texture, layering and patterning to provide truly heartfelt spaces with genuine depth. And so Calacatta and Carrara marble entered the room, literally making itself at home in kitchens, bathrooms, and living room hearths, as well as in a myriad of accessories and furniture from small bowls and coasters to coffee and dining tables.
As greige made way for a return to colour in interiors, in recent years designers have turned their attention to bolder choices, moving on from the classic tones of Calacatta, Carrara, and Pietra marbles to Verde Indio, Spanish Gold, and Calacatta Viola.
Not that there is anything new about marble. First documented for use in construction in 3rd century Greece BCE, with evidence it was also used in ancient Turkey and Rome, it was originally chosen for its strength and beauty, as well as its accessibility, extracted from quarries using hammers and wedges and removed using pulleys, levers, and winches rather than the more difficult process of mining. While extraction methods have improved, especially in recent years, the nature of this popular stone is unchanged.
A metamorphic rock composed mostly of calcite, it is formed when limestone is subjected to heat and pressure. When the calcite in the limestone recrystallises, it forms a rock that is a mass of interlocking crystals, creating what we know as marble.
While many countries, including Australia, have marble deposits, about half the world’s supply is sourced from just four countries—Spain, Italy, India, and China. Strong enough to endure extended use, it is also soft enough to be relatively easy to carve while its natural beauty allows it to be polished and honed, giving it a glow that adds depth—and a sense of luxury—to any space it inhabits.
Australian designers have been quick to embrace the use of marble, offering, as it does, the opportunity to create truly unique interiors. Creative director of Mim Design, Emma Mahlook, says while budget is always a consideration, a greater variety of marble has become easier to source in recent years.
“Coloured stones provide an opportunity to create distinctive and striking spaces,” she says. “As such, we are finding that there is a slight shift to bolder and braver choices of coloured stone than the traditional whites and greys.”
For homeowners interested in creating distinctive, outstanding spaces, it is hard to beat, with each piece different from the other.
“No batch of stone is ever the same, which makes it so unique and such an interesting and visually appealing product with colours, textures, and patterns that are sometimes as complex as intricate works of art,” says Mahlook.
She cites a recent commercial project her studio realised for Enoteca Boccaccio, an exclusive Italian restaurant in the heart of the Melbourne suburb of Balwyn, where she specified a selection of coloured marbles to create an intimate and luxurious dining experience that looks to the past, as well as the future.
“The choices of natural stone in Enoteca Boccaccio, which featured marbles Rosso Levanto and Carrara as well as a granite called Domino, were selected to reflect Italy’s streets and embody genuine durability and commitment to the art of preservation,” says Mahlook. “Rosso Levanto and Carrara are archaic marbles with such strong significance connecting to Italy’s rich heritage.”
Colour and Communications Manager at Dulux, Andrea Lucena-Orr, says the interest in coloured marble in Australian design has its origins in more transient hospitality spaces like bars and restaurants, where design is traditionally riskier.
“Typically, it starts in hospitality and commercial environments,” she says. “You tend to get it in high-end homes because it is expensive, but it’s beautiful.”
“That whole natural palette is a huge phenomenon—people are celebrating those imperfections in patterns and shapes now.”
Because no two slabs are the same, Mahlook says there’s the ability to create truly distinctive, personal spaces for clients seeking genuinely idiosyncratic interiors.
“The movement towards coloured natural stones reflects a broader cultural shift towards individuality, sustainability, and innovation in design and architecture,” she says.
For those falling under its spell, Director of Studio Tate, Alex Hopkins, says marble pairs well with other materials such as timber and looks beautiful indoors, particularly in kitchens and bathrooms. However, she cautions there are some things to consider before specifying it at home.
“To ensure marble remains a timeless choice rather than a fleeting trend, we recommend using it selectively and pairing it with contrasting materials,” she says. “It’s crucial to understand its maintenance demands and consider the overall budget, including installation and upkeep costs.”
While it is susceptible to staining because of its porosity, Hopkins says using marble sparingly, for example, in a powder room vanity, can minimise maintenance.
“Different finishes, like honed surfaces, can also help reduce the appearance of wear,” she says. “Working with experienced designers or specialists ensures the marble chosen fits both the aesthetic and functional needs of your space.”
Professionally applied sealants can also make staining less likely.
For those bold enough to take the plunge, Hopkins says the rewards are great.
“Its diverse colour palette and natural veining offer a unique aesthetic that other materials can’t match,” she says.
This stylish family home combines a classic palette and finishes with a flexible floorplan
Just 55 minutes from Sydney, make this your creative getaway located in the majestic Hawkesbury region.