ATHENS NEWS FEATURED GEORGE STROUMBOULIS' NEW REAL ESTATE TELEVISION SHOW
George Stroumboulis was featured in the national newspaper, Athens News, in an article titled “How to Sell Greece Abroad”. The article highlighted the founder of GPE, the website performance and the idea for a new real-estate television show to help attract foreign investors.
The Athens News (www.athensnews.gr) is Greece's oldest English-language newspaper, founded in 1952 as a daily publication. The Athens News has regular sections covering every aspect of Greek news – be it politics, economics, social issues, environment, business, arts and entertainment, and sports – as well as international news. Weekly features include analysis of domestic and foreign affairs by leading academics and experts, humour columns and reader contributions.
About Hellenic Home Hunting: The idea for the TV show was inspired by the need to better communicate the process of searching, viewing and buying real estate in Greece and to address the obstacles often presented during the actual buying process. The first installment will feature a couple from Canada, looking to invest in a summer home in Stoupa, Messinia, Greece. Their first step was to enlist a real estate agent from GreekPropertyExchange.com, and within what seemed like no time at all, found themselves on a house hunting adventure with the real estate agent, camera crew, show host and GPE representatives, on the beautiful coast of Stoupa.
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How to sell Greece abroad
By Kathy Tzilvakis
What started with one Greek Canadian’s experience of buying a summer house in Kalamata is now turning into a television show to help other house hunters around the world.
George Stroumboulis (photo R), who runs a marketing firm in New York City and a Greek real-estate website (greekpropertyexchange.com), didn’t find something to buy in Greece. What he did find was a confusing real-estate market. That’s when he hit on the idea of the website, featured in the Athens News in March. Now, he’s got another idea: a new television series.
“I’m of Greek descent and I would like to see many of these properties stay in Greek hands for the next generation.”
Asked why he’s taking the leap to the little screen, Stroumboulis says, “The website’s great but two-dimensional. This makes it three-dimensional.” There are more than 6,000 properties currently listed on his website - more than double the listings since last year.
Athens News: Have you started filming?
George Stroumboulis: Yes. Last summer, we got people from major television networks - camera crews and editors - and we filmed the pilot show. We went to three different homes. We lined up the real-estate agents to take us around. We are now in the process of editing it, promoting it and, at the end of January, we are looking to air the show on one of the major networks in Greece. The first step was to do all the hard work of filming and editing. The second part now is to make sure that people get to see the show. We are working with partners around the world to get it aired in Canada, USA, South Africa and around Europe. Without name-dropping, I’ve talked to two Greek networks. I’ll be in Greece in January to discuss it with them. I’m hoping to do a series of 5-6 episodes over the next year.
Why do you want to air it in Greece?
This is just to show the Greek people what we are trying to do. My whole idea is to attract foreigners on a global scale. A lot of it is going to be to get it viral through the web. We are also looking at local Greek television stations and public access TV. We just want to get this out there.
How would you describe the show?
It’s in documentary style. It revolves around a real Greek Canadian couple. It will give you a glimpse of who they are, where they’re coming from and why they chose to buy a house in Greece. There will also be a few interviews with the actual, professional real-estate agents. And after viewing each house, the couple discusses what they liked and what they didn’t like. That’s the 30-minute pilot that we are doing. It’s almost like a tourism piece. It was shot in Stoupa and Mani in Messinia.
Why Stoupa and not somewhere more touristy like an island?
We have no connection to Stoupa. It has nothing to do with the local government or anything. It’s just an ideal location to film it. We also chose this location because most people put emphasis on the islands and the high-value areas like Santorini and Mykonos. We want to show people that there is beauty all over Greece.
How did you find the Greek Canadian couple?
We met them through contacts. They were visiting Greece on vacation and looking for a house. So we set it up for them to find an agent. They had started researching months in advance on greekpropertyexchange. They were looking for homes while it was snowing in Canada. They were planning their dream for the summer. We brought this all together. We are filming this experience.
From your experience with the website, how much has the economic crisis hurt the real-estate market?
It’s a catch-22. We are seeing a lot of people wanting to unload their property. And I hate seeing this. I’m of Greek descent and I would like to see many of these properties stay in Greek hands for the next generation. On the flip side, people are going to lose properties so they need to unload them. Everyone has their own financial situation. So we’re seeing a lot of Greeks wanting to sell and also many others wanting to invest in properties. Thank God, there’s been kind of a boost of confidence these last few days with the new prime minister. Living in New York, local Americans continuously ask me about what’s going on in Greece. What a mess! It’s frustrating.
Do you think the show could help stimulate Greece’s real-estate market?
I’m not saying this is going to help stimulate the economy. I just hope that I can communicate to the world that if I do this and another ten people try to do something else to help Greece, then we’re going to create a chain and can help push things forward.
What sort of feedback have you got since launching the website?
Well, people, friends and family are still asking why I am trying to do this in this economy. But to my eyes, it’s the perfect time to help the Greeks better advertise what they are trying to sell. Since launching the site, I’ve had 1,400 real-estate agents and independent sellers register on the site within a year. We have a total of 6,000 properties uploaded on the site. We have visitors from 120-plus countries around the world who are logging in everyday. On a monthly basis, we see more than 15,000 unique visitors. So, in just a year’s time and without doing anything fancy, there’s a big interest.
