'Beko Hoti's success in the Scandinavian-Greek market.'

In one of the worst housing market downturns in Europe, Stockholm-based realtor Beko Hoti has turned its attention to Spain and Greece to better serve its clients. The sunny countries have long been the preferred destination for Scandinavians to buy second homes, and thanks to their higher income levels, many can afford the very best. Hoti launched Shaza Luxury Real Estate in early 2021 and has managed to win recognition as the best luxury real estate agency in Sweden by the Luxury Lifestyle Awards.

Born in Kosovo, Hoti came to Sweden with his parents when he was a year old. He grew up in Malmö, at the eastern end of the Oresund Bridge, which connects Sweden and Denmark.

We met with ex'. 'a professional soccer player as he traveled to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for meetings that could help expand his global network.

How are you overcoming the challenges of a pandemic, inflation and your market's proximity to the Russian-Ukrainian war? "

The gap between seller and buyer is still very wide - sellers want the prices they had two years ago and new buyers want to take advantage of this situation and drive prices down even further. In Stockholm, most of our clients are in the Estermalm area, where the most expensive properties are located. Also Durgården, Dürsholm and Lidinge. Nevertheless, we have had some notable transactions. We recently sold a 1690 year old city mansion in the center of Amsterdam for $2.2 million, 163''square meters with a roof-terrace. It is rare for a foreign buyer to acquire a landmark building, so this was a valuable bargain.

Connecting Scandinavians with second homes seems to be the wisest course of action in market conditions.

In the pandemic, rich people with penthouses or expensive apartments in the center of Stockholm wanted to move, they wanted space away from the city. This trend continues, and as always, the best solution is to expand my network, connecting Scandinavians with other markets such as Greece, the Middle East and even the US. I am also following the trends with participation in tokenized real estate.

Why did you name your company Shaza Luxury Real Estate?

Shaza was my mother's nickname. We were very''loved ones. She had cancer for 10 years and passed away in 2019 at the age of 52. At one point we were both battling cancer at the same time. For me, it started with a tumor and spread. Ten years ago, on my birthday, I had an eight and a half hour surgery followed by 32 chemotherapy treatments. When I woke up after surgery, my mom was holding my hand and praying. She was always by my side. This year, I got the news from my doctor: after 10 years, I am completely cancer-free - no more screenings.

How does her memory affect your business today?

Well, it gets emotional, but my mom was very kind and compassionate. She always put everyone before herself. She had an angelic smile and was very outgoing,''that I inherited from her. So I honor her with my company, with my life. She told me, "To honor the dead, you have to keep living." I wanted her to always be with me; it gave me a different and expanded perspective on things. Her presence supports the goals I pursue.

How does your career as a semi-pro and professional soccer player influence your approach to business? (Hoti grew up playing soccer in Sweden and then played midfielder in Brazil and Australia).

When I was playing, I had a very strong winning mentality. I hated to lose. And I'm also one of those guys who just never gives up. People didn't like playing against me because I never stopped running.

Have you had moments like "Ted Lasso" while playing soccer.

You know, I've been lucky enough to win, to win championships. When I was a boy and played in Sweden, we reached the semi-finals of the Junior World Cup, the Goethe Cup, which was amazing. When I played professionally we reached very high levels and that was my "Ted Lasso" moment, a great combined feeling of working with a team to achieve success, just like I do in real estate today. I still play soccer, but not at the same level.

We know you got your Scandinavian license''on the sale of the new Elounda Hills resort in Crete - a development with 600 residential units and a hotel that looks like a utopia. It's a pretty major success.

I think it took them 12 years just to get the land for this project. It's completely eco-friendly and very magical, the land is located perfectly on the bay. Beautiful environment with crystal clear blue water, and it is very peaceful as it is in a lagoon type bay. The weather here is also perfect - in other countries it can be very hot and humid, but Crete doesn't have that humidity problem. The airport is about 40 minutes away, but a new one is being built which will be even closer and with its own business lounge for Elounda Hills Resort owners.

Greece just'. 'has raised its "golden visa" limit for real estate purchases from €250,000 (approximately $265,000) to €500,000 (approximately $528,000). How does this affect your project? (The visa grants foreigners the right to stay for five years when buying real estate).

This increase only affects Athens, Mykonos and Santorini, but in Crete and other areas the limit is still €250,000. Greece has seen a huge change in trend among international buyers looking for second homes. More people are flying in. The sales director told me that in the last year and a half about 80% to 90% of the flights have been filled with foreigners. And in the last six months, I think the flights have been 90% filled with Americans. That's the basic economic model of supply and demand.''Mykonos and Santorini are real gems, diamond places for many. And now we're seeing that in Crete as well. It's incredible how many inquiries we've received.

We know how important relationships and networks are to your business. How else do you develop and expand them?

In February, I attended the World Government Summit in Dubai, a meeting of heads of state and government. The private sector and thought leaders are also there. I was invited by an assistant financial advisor to a member of the Saudi royal family. I met politicians, people from the government and from different businesses around the world. It was a great opportunity to meet people.

What is your favorite place to vacation?

This is a good question - when was the last time I went on vacation? It's on'is actually South Africa. The nature here has remained untouched for thousands of years. The air, the culture, the food - everything is different here. I get a different feeling when I'm there.