Olives oil the wheels for sale of villas in Crete
The owners of villas in a new residential property development in Crete will share the proceeds of this month’s olive harvest on the 1.6 hectare (four-acre) site on which they have been built.
Caversham-Barnes of Reading, Berkshire, the developer of Litsarda Villas in western Crete, has planted 250 olive trees in the grounds of the nine-individually designed homes. Within a few years, these trees, together with 150 old-established ones already growing on the site, are expected to produce around 2,500 litres of olive oil annually.
Villa owners who harvest their olives can have them pressed and bottled by the local co-operative in the small town of Vamos, two kilometres away.
“This is one of the delights of opting for a rural inland location,” explains Said Marie, principal of Caversham-Barnes, who says that all too often Britons retiring to Crete think they should find a home close to the sea.
Said, whose company has undertaken extensive research to determine the exact requirements of discerning British couples who require a permanent home in the sun to enjoy their retirement, says they are mistaken if they think they should buy a property in one of Crete’s coastal locations.
“There are better deals and a number of additional benefits to be enjoyed by going just a little way inland where it is possible to find quality homes at lower prices,” he says. “This is because, on the coast, housebuilders are competing for land with commercial buyers like hotels, stores, bars and restaurants.
“As land is less expensive away from the coast, plots and houses tend to be bigger than those available at comparable prices near the sea. In addition, inland settlements tend to be on higher ground, giving many homes panoramic views of the Mediterranean as well as the mountains and countryside.
“What’s more, inland locations like Litsarda are more peaceful than the coastal towns as there is less commercial activity and disruption from construction sites, noisy bars and busy tourist hotels.”
Said points out that inland locations are better suited to year-round living.
“On the coast, businesses tend to cater for holidaymakers during the high season and then close for the winter months, turning seaside resorts into ghost-towns,” he says. “Local people tend to live in more affordable locations away from the coast so, for British buyers wishing to be part of a community, my advice is head inland and live as the Cretans do.
“Because shops and other businesses in inland towns like Vamos rely on locals, they are open all year round. Their prices are often cheaper than those in coastal towns where, with a limited season, they have to charge more.”
Proving the point, Said says that a third of the villas his firm has built at Litsarda – 220 metres above sea level and with panoramic views of the White Mountains and Souda Bay – have been sold or reserved by retiring Britons.
They include Lincolnshire couple Mike Rogers (74) and his wife Linda (62) who describe their decision to buy one of the properties as “not just the peaceful inland location – which is superb – and the fact that the property represented excellent value for money, but also the way the development had been planned, constructed and finished by Caversham-Barnes.”
Prices of the properties still available at Litsarda Villas start at €269,900 for a two-bedroom villa with a floor area of 127 sq m, 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.
Litsarda Villas is easy to reach from the UK with scheduled flights to Athens and connecting flights to Chania, 40 minutes away by road. Alternatively there are direct flights from the UK to Heraklion, a 75-minute drive from Litsarda Villas.
For more details, visit caversham-barnes.com.
