Greek New Homesʼ Sales Down 50%

1. The total number of property transactions dropped by 40% in 2009 compared to the year before.

2. New properties, especially those over 100 sq m located in high-priced areas were affected the most, marking a 50% drop.

3. Transactions for smaller apartments suffered slightly less, dropping by 40% in 2009 over 2008.

4. Used homes transactions dropped by 45%, marking a sharp rise in older homes supply, following the similar trend evident in new properties. Older homes are usually bought by foreigners of lower income levels and fared better than new homes for a short period into the crisis.

5. Second homes were also dramatically affected, marking a 50% in transactions over 2008. Land parcel sales stretching under 2 hectares were equally affected, while sales of land parcels over 2 hectares dropped in the islands, but rose in the mountains.


A previous BoG report conducted amongst Greek realtors in the third quarter of 2009 aiming to outline the property market at that time and their forecasts for the immediate future had shown that:

• 46% of Greek realtors considered property prices at the time "reasonable", while 54% considered them expensive. Almost all respondents had placed the number of transactions at the same levels or at a slight increase in the second and third quarter of 2009 over the previous year.

• Respondents had placed the price drop to 4% in the first quarter and approximately 10% in the second quarter over the same periods in 2008, while placing prices on the same levels as the previous year in the third quarter of 2009.

• Concerning their expectations, Greek realtors responded with slight optimism, expecting prices to stabilize in the near future.

Source - RED Magazine