2008Review: International:The songs, the dancing, the fun and all that beautiful scenery - Mamma Mia! has done wonders for Greek property, writes Liz Rowlinson

IT IS HARD TO find anyone who has sat through the movie blockbuster, Mamma Mia!and not been beguiled by the rustic charm and blue hues of the Greek Islands.

Whether it's scenes of the cast skipping through fishing villages to the tune of Dancing Queen,that tiny church perched atop a precipitous island, or the whitewashed "sugar cube" houses, it's pretty irresistible stuff.

Not surprisingly, tourist arrivals have experienced an upward trend since the film was released this summer - in the same way the book and film of Captain Corelli's Mandolinled to an influx to Cephalonia 10 years ago.

"The islands of Skiathos and Skopolos already had their own faithful following, especially among people who love sailing around the Aegean, however after Mamma Mia!interest in these islands was fervently renewed," says Irini Tzortzoglou of Piraeus Bank which provides mortgages for buyers in Greece (www.piraeusbank.co.uk).

Further, it has helped Maria Vogiatzoglou, the owner of Skopolos Village Hotel - where members of the cast, including Meryl Streep stayed - to sell 31 apartments which are available from €119,000 through Greek property specialist, Aegean Blue. Owners can take advantage of the hotel facilities and rental management scheme during the tourism season.

Yet the market in Skopolos is a small one, limited by the fact that the slow-paced little island is only accessible by ferry.

Poor accessibility has historically been a major factor in holding back the property markets on many of the Greek Islands - which Knight Frank says is at appreciating around 7.9 per cent a year - but some new EasyJet routes have boosted business in Crete and Mykonos.

So where is best to buy if you're an Abba enthusiast with a keen eye for investment?

The most international - and expensive - islands are Corfu and Mykonos which attract high-net worth individuals because they offer the sort of relaxed privacy that is not found in the Costa Smeralda or St Tropez.

However on both you can find a complete spectrum of property, from traditional houses in less prestigious locations from €150,000, to €15 million showpiece villas on the some of the most exquisite pieces of coastline.

While the year-round destination of Corfu has long been an established market for the British and the Irish, the property market of the highly seasonal Mykonos has only really just begun to take off , says Roi Deldimou of Beauchamp Estates, which opened up an office on the island this summer (www.beauchamp.gr).

"Mykonos is the only place in Greece for the rich to come, with a laid-back glamour that has attracted the likes of Madonna, Harrison Ford and Sarah Jessica Parker, alongside its core market of wealthy Athenian ship owners," she says.

The rather starkly barren island is peppered with striking cube-style villas cut into the rugged cliffsides, which can rent for €15,000 a week in high season.

But it is also possible to buy an apartment with a shared pool on a small development in the popular south-west for under €250,000 through Aegean Blue (www.aegean-blue.com).

If you prefer somewhere with fewer all-night parties, there's the picture-postcard island of Santorini nearby.

At the top end you can buy a three-bed, three-bath villas there for €680,000, but more reasonable is the Santorini Blue development aimed at the holiday-rentals market.

A one-bed, one-bath apartment with prized views of the giant extinct volcano crater at the hub of the isle, costs €205,000.

The Greek islands have tended to attract buyers for lifestyle reasons rather than pure investment, but a relaxation in the strict planning rules - in a bid to boost tourism by 50 per cent by 2013 - has produced some new-build projects ripe for investors.

One example is the Halcyon Hills Marina Spa Resort on the unspoilt island of Samos where villas start from €300,000 (www.bandbw.co.uk).

Owners of properties at the five-star resort receive a government-backed guaranteed rental return of 8 per cent for the first two years.

The large and southerly island of Crete has experienced large-scale development — especially around the tourism/retirement hotspot of Chania - having been more relaxed with its planning laws.

However the largely unspoilt north-east coast of the island - focused around Elounda and Agios Nikolaos - has made an effort to go upmarket and is "attracting the sort of people who have never previously considered buying in Crete, or even Greece before", says John Batty of Aegean Blue.

There's been a mini building boom of sleek villas, including Istron Estates, a boutique project of three-bedroom villas, two of which sold last week for €800,000 through Aegean Blue.

This is top of the market for Crete, but for something more traditional, Oonagh Karanjia of Crete Property Consultants offers village houses in parts of the island which have been little changed over the centuries.

She says that Irish buyers prefer this type of property, and are still active, having not been affected by the rise in value of the euro (unlike her British clients).

"The Irish have a great affinity with the Cretans as the country not only looks similar - if you forget the olive trees - but are historically an agricultural, hospitable nation," says Oonagh, who is herself Irish.

Her properties include a stone "wreck" for €35,000 and renovated two-bedroom village houses for around €135,000. She says there's still plenty of stock in the villages around Neapoli.

"The best rentals are either a character house in a village, with a courtyard and lemon tree - or a top-notch villa with a pool," she adds.

If you can't afford one of those, fear not, Mamma Mia!is still in cinemas and the DVD has just been released.

On the market

• Renovated two-bedroom stone property situated near the south coast town of Ierapetra, €96,000 from Crete Property Consultants, www.creteproperty.co.uk

• Contemporary four-bed villa in an idyllic spot on the north-east coast of Corfu, €717,917 from Savills, www.savills.co.uk/abroad

• This Mykonos five-bed villa with a large pool is near the trendy Super Paradise Beach. It is for sale at €10 million through Beauchamp Estates, www.beauchamp.gr