Greek real estate: The rise in prices continues unabated

Real estate prices continue to rally and are forecast to rise even more in the coming years.

Market professionals estimate that the high demand for home acquisition has strengthened even more this year, as a result of the “Spiti My” program.

According to a recent analysis by Piraeus Bank, house prices will increase by 7.4% in 2023, from 11.1% in 2022.

The rate of increase in prices will also slow down gradually in the coming years. According to Piraeus Bank analysts, in 2024 prices will increase by 6.5%, in 2025 by 6% and in 2026 by 5.6%.

The big increase in the prices of newly built houses is due to the rise in construction costs due to the war in Ukraine, but also to the increase in labor, as there is a huge demand for workers and very little supply.

A second reason for rising prices is surely the imbalance between supply and demand, as tens of thousands of homes remain stuck between auctions and foreclosures by banks and debt collection agencies.

Also, over 750,000 homes nationwide are estimated to be off the market by choice of their owners, being closed and unused.

However, one question that concerns and perplexes as prices continue to pull upward is this: Is there a real estate “bubble” and if so, when will it burst? How much risk is the Greek market overall?

Real estate pundits appear reassuring and insist that there is no danger in Greece. The “clouds”, as they say, concern mainly mature foreign markets and not Greece. In Greece they argue that sales prices remain at tolerable levels.

The Golden Visa

The increase in the threshold for obtaining a Golden Visa to 500,000 euros in the popular areas also plays a catalytic role, they argue in the OT.

The doubling of the minimum investment limit to 500,000 euros in the center of Athens, the northern and southern suburbs, Mykonos, Santorini and the Municipality of Thessaloniki, has triggered an “explosion” of transactions.

Interested investors who want to secure a property with the existing limit of 250,000 euros in the areas where the doubling will apply, should have concluded a preliminary purchase agreement by July 31, after the recent extension that was given. The transaction should then be completed by the end of 2023.

According to the official figures of the Ministry of Immigration Policy, from 2018 until March 2023, a total of 18,833 requests for the issuance of residence permits have been submitted by investors.

Boom in transactions

Homes worth thousands, hundreds of thousands, even millions of euros change hands overnight.

Data from the Real Estate Transfer Register shows that the rally continues in the real estate market. The prices of houses, commercial real estate and plots of land are on an upward trajectory with investor interest remaining lively, notary offices being highly active and the Independent Public Revenue Authority AADE’s-myProperty platform accepting on a daily basis over 1,300 declarations of purchase and sale, parental benefits and real estate donations.