Mamma mia, here we go again
The kitsch film version of the popular West End Musical, featuring songs by ABBA, was a box office phenomenon, raking in more than £410 million worldwide and now the big screen has spilt over into real life - with the number of potential buyers viewing property in Greece jumping by 120 per cent following the film's release...
The film, starring Hollywood A-lister Meryl Streep, was shot on the beautiful but relatively undiscovered Greek island of Skopelos and portrayed an ideal lifestyle of beaches, sun and singing in tune.
The cast spent four weeks filming on the sleepy island - which has no airport and can only be reached by ferry - creating a hideaway which Meryl Streep described as ‘heaven.'
People chasing the good life came straight out of the cinema and logged on to the Internet to look at Greek property for sale, says global property listing site PropertyIndex.com.
Whilst just 9,812 people were viewing property in Greece online in March last year, this number skyrocketed to a whopping 24,852 in March of this year.
Lee Bramzell, Chief Executive of PropertyIndex.com, said, "British buyers are clearly captivated by Mamma Mia's idyllic portrayal of life in the Greek islands and are intent on finding their own island hideaway.
"Greece offers a fantastic climate with mild winters and 3,000 hours of sunshine a year, resulting in a long rental season from April to October.
"The cost of living is low and property prices are affordable with two-bed properties costing in the region of £165,529.
"With second homeowners looking not only looking for value for money but also the opportunity to recoup some of the costs through renting the property out for all or part of the year, Greece is a top performing destination," added Mr Bramzell.
Budget airline easyjet has also recently reported a 13 per cent increase in sales of flights to Athens since the film was release last summer.
Paul Simmons, UK General Manager for easyJet said, "Despite the strength of the euro against the pound, the relatively low cost of living in Greece is making it affordable even in a recession."