Research pays off for UK firm’s villa development in Crete

The decision to undertake detailed market research to establish the nature and needs of the prime target market for property in Crete has paid off for a UK developer which reports that a third of the villas it has built on a rural site in western Crete have been sold or reserved.

“Each of the purchasers matches the profile of the buyers for whom the properties were designed and built,” reports Said Marie, principal of Berkshire-based Caversham-Barnes which has developed the Litsarda Villas scheme in western Crete.

Comfortable lifestyles

“Research showed that a significant part of the target market for property in Crete comprises discerning British people approaching retirement who require a holiday home in the sun which, in due course, will become their permanent home,” says Said.

Villa Galini

“We then researched the facilities expected by Britons seeking comfortable lifestyles in Crete. They told us they wanted a private heated pool with a huge sun terrace, air-conditioning – but also central heating for use during Crete’s brief winter period – gardens and a garage.

“Those were our design criteria and, because potential buyers can see that we have taken the trouble to build what they actually want, we are selling the properties despite the recession.”

The Litsarda Villas development comprises nine individually designed homes in an elevated location enjoying panoramic views of Crete’s White Mountains and Souda Bay in the Mediterranean.

Hot summer months

Located 40 minutes by road from Chania International Airport (75 minutes from Heraklion Airport), the development is close to the heart of the village of Litsarda and two kilometres from the shops, bank, post office and healthcare facilities in the small town of Vamos.

Explained Said Marie, “Detailed market research formed the basis of our design criteria and, because we took the trouble to build what potential buyers actually want, we are selling our properties despite the recession,” says Said Marie (pictured), principal of Berkshire-based Caversham-Barnes which has developed the Litsarda Villas scheme in western Crete.

The villas have floor areas ranging from 127 square metres to 170 square metres, including a self-contained lower ground floor in each property.

Use of the lower ground floor as a living area has been legalised which means that purchasers can opt to use the space for up to three extra bedrooms with a second bathroom, in addition to the two or three bedrooms on which the design of the villa is based.

“It makes a lot of sense to locate bedrooms on the lower ground floor because that is the coolest part of the villa during Crete’s hot summer months,” says Said.

Each villa occupies an individual plot of up to half an acre planted with 30 olive and fruit trees. Owners who harvest the olives on their plots can produce their own olive oil by having them pressed and bottled by the local co-operative in Vamos.

Prices of the properties still available at Litsarda Villas start at €269,900 for a two-bedroom villa with a floor area of 127 square metres, including a self-contained lower ground floor with the potential to create three additional bedrooms. The properties are supplied fully furnished and equipped, so prices include everything from beds to bottle-openers.

For more details call Caversham-Barnes on 0118 9483202 or visit the company’s new-look website launched this month at www.caversham-barnes.com. It incorporates an electronic version of a new 16-page brochure which can be viewed at http://caversham-barnes.com/pdf/Caversham-Barnes-Brochure.pdf

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