A reality TV show shot in Greece has tongues wagging around the world with Greece not interested in screening the show. Hellenic Home Hunting follows jet-setting prospectors touring homes in search of the perfect pied-à-terre or villa. Filmed in English with Greek subtitles, it is one of the first shows of its kind for the network. The reality show follows home buyers looking for bargains in crisis-battered Greece
“Greeks in Greece don’t care about it,” said George Stroumboulis, a 31-year-old Greek-Canadian marketer. The show made its debut early this month on Greek TV network Antenna in North America, most of Europe and Australia.
The show spotlights a stumbling block for the Greek housing recovery. With home prices falling roughly 40 per cent since the Greek housing market’s peak in 2008, prices are expected to continue to drop at least through the first half of this year, according to the Hellenic Association of Realtors. Some agents say price cuts can run as deep as 60 to 70 per cent.
During filming, Mr Stroumboulis and his crew wore T-shirts that read, “Greece is not for sale, but its real estate is!”
Yet reactions remained mixed with onlookers seemingly understanding, if a bit guarded, but more interested in getting their own homes featured on the show.
“All the foreigners are hesitant, because, on the one hand, they think Greeks are con artists, and on the other hand, the bureaucracy is chaotic,” said George Moutzouris, an agent on Lesbos, an island in the Aegean Sea.
Helen Robinson, a 61-year-old manager of a cattle ranch in North Queensland, said she briefly lived in Greece in the ’60s before political turmoil forced her Greek father to move the family out of the country. Now she is looking to buy a four-bedroom villa near her father’s village in southern Lesbos for 255,000 euros. Four years ago, the same home would have cost 100,000 euros more, said listing agent Dimitra Balkizas, who guided Ms Robinson on the show.
Source: Wall Street Journal