Buyer demand from abroad “rescued” the housing market in the center of Athens and on the islands (Cyclades and Argosaronic) in the first half of this year. On the contrary, in all other regions of Attica, where demand comes mainly from Greek buyers, there is a significant drop in transactions, a sign of the negative psychology that has formed in the market due to the wave of accuracy, cost. energy and fuel, but also the cycle of higher interest rates that has just begun.

The foregoing is clearly reflected in the sales and purchase data from the Real Estate Transfer Register of the General Secretariat of Information Systems for the first half of 2022, collected and processed by the real estate agency RE/MAX Estate (a member of the RE/MAX Hellas network).

According to the study, in the first half of this year, Attica, Argosaronikos and the Cyclades recorded an overall drop of 12% in home purchases and sales, as well as a 13% decrease in the average area of ​​properties that were transferred compared to the first semester of last year. Accordingly, the value of the transferred property was lower by 6%. Of course, there are significant differences between individual regions, but the general trend has been downward, with the exception of the center of Athens and the islands of the Cyclades and Argosaronikos, where buying interest is higher than last year.

With the exception of the islands, which make up another market, in Attica the center of Athens looks like an area that was “saved” in the first half of this year, confirming the fact that it is emerging as a key destination for foreign investors interested in properties that can be used through a short-term lease or in the context of obtaining a residence permit through the relevant golden visa program. In this context, the number of sales increased by 6%, the value of real estate sold increased by 24%, and the area increased by 9%. For this year’s semester, it appears that the return of foreign investors has been completed after a two-year absence due to the health crisis.

This development is also reflected in the data of the Bank of Greece (BoG). Based on this, during the first quarter of this year, capital inflows from abroad to the Greek real estate market increased by 74.8%, to 374 million euros. Accordingly, in a recent survey edited on behalf of “K” Spitogatos Insights by the online classifieds network of the same name, out of the 10 countries with the highest interest in the Greek market, five, i.e. 50% focused on properties in the center of Athens. . Thus, in the first half of this year, investors from the UK, Romania, the Netherlands, Australia and Cyprus have singled out the center of the Greek capital as the number one destination in the context of finding a home to buy.

In the southern suburbs, the total number of sales decreased by 9%, but in the areas of Agios Dimitrios and Daphni Imitos, the decline reached 47% and 44%, respectively. A 32% drop in transactions was also noted at Zografu. On the contrary, sales growth was observed in Alimos by 28%, in Moshato and Tavros by 17%, and in Glyfada and Nea Smyrni, sales increased by 8% year on year.

High home prices, accuracy and rising borrowing costs are limiting buying interest.

The drop in sales in the northern suburbs was larger, down 22% compared to the first half of 2021, with turnover down 11% and real estate purchased this year down 23% year-over-year. The largest decline in sales was recorded in Vrilissia with 73%, followed by Papagos Cholargos with 44% and Agia Paraskevi with 43%. On the contrary, transactions in Penteli have grown by 38% this year, while in Pefki-Lykovrisi the growth reaches 24%. In general, homebuyers in the northern regions prefer houses with an area of ​​about 100 sq.m. and the year of release is close to 1986.

Among other things, it should also be noted that by the end of the first semester, not many transactions were carried out due to the strike of notaries, while at the end of 2021 there were local bureaucratic problems and delays in the transfer of contracts, resulting in several sales that were originally planned for 2021 should be finalized within the first weeks of 2022. Another feature of this year’s deals is that in many areas where the increase in the average price per sq.m. Compared to the previous year, this was not due to an increase in sales prices, but to an increase in objective values, which mediated and led to an increase in declared sales prices. As for the average age, in most regions it ranges from 35-45 years.

The above data demonstrates what several industry bodies had predicted in previous months, namely that demand would show a downward trend due to negative market conditions. High house prices, continued difficulties in accessing bank financing, a wave of precision, an energy crisis and rising borrowing costs are currently limiting buying interest, forcing a large proportion of potential buyers to delay or even cancel the corresponding steps. In a recent analysis, Alpha Bank stated that “a gradual downward shift in monetary policy through higher interest rates is likely to slow the upward trend seen in house prices in the near term.”

However, prices themselves are now a deterrent. Based on the analysis of data obtained from the property price indices edited by the Central Bank, from the first quarter of 2018, when prices began to recover, until the first quarter of 2022, the sale prices in the Attica Basin record a rally of about 40%. In fact, in some areas with high demand, such as the southern suburbs and the center of Athens (eg the shopping triangle, Koukaki), the increase exceeds 50%. However, based on the transaction data, it seems that the housing market is currently dominated by negative psychology, which has affected demand, resulting in at least a slowdown in price growth at the first stage. growth is forecast in the coming months.