There is a lack of affordable areas to buy property. With the money you used to buy a house in the southern or even the northern suburbs two or three years ago, today you buy a house in the western suburbs. For example, an old apartment in the area of Peristeri today costs about 1,500 euros/sq.m., a price that until a few years ago residences to Holargos or Alimos. Accordingly, the average sale price of a second-hand house in Cholargos (2,230 euros/sq.m.) is similar to the sale price in Glyfada in 2018.
This is a phenomenon due to skyrocketing prices, especially in areas where values had fallen the most during the crisis. Today these points record a higher rate of price increase, as a result of which the options of prospective buyers are also limited.
In accordance with Observatory of House Prices Values, edited by Geoaxis, a company of certified real estate appraisers, during the third quarter of this year the sale prices of old houses recorded an annual increase of 13.8% on average, while compared to just two years ago the average price increase reached an impressive 41.4% . This fact comes at a time when lending rates have also soared.
Somehow, a newly built apartment in Ampelokipi today costs 2,800 euros/sq.m. on average. With this money one could buy a newly built property in Marousi just a year ago (today it costs 3,300 euros/sq.m.) or in Cholargos two years ago. Today, in Cholargos, a newly built house costs 4,050 euros/sq.m. Accordingly, with the 2,450 euros/sq.m., which a new construction in Peristeri costs today, he could buy a similar quality property in Paleo Faliro just two years ago.
As can be seen from its price data Geoaxis, which focuses its analysis on five representative areas of Attica, the biggest increase in prices during the two years 2021-2023 is found in the old apartments of Cholargos. Such a property currently costs 2,235 euros/sq.m., having recorded an increase of 49% (and 12.6% on an annual basis). The “rally” of prices in Maroussi is also impressive, where the average price today stands at 1,850 euros/sq.m. (for used properties of course), having recorded an increase of 45% compared to 2021 but also 71% compared to 2014. It should be noted that the above prices refer to typical properties in each area and not to high-end constructions or residences located in particularly privileged locations . Such homes sell for up to 25% more than standard properties.
The sale prices of old homes registered an annual increase of 13.8% in the first quarter, compared to two years ago 41.4%.
As emphasized by Mr. Yannis Xylas, head of Geoaxis, “such strong price growth will probably slow down in the coming months due to shrinking demand. This will happen due to rising lending rates, rising costs of construction/renovation materials and energy costs, events that will put potential buyers on hold. By no means is the market experiencing bubble conditions today, as the level of supply is still very tight relative to demand, particularly of newly built apartments.”
His conclusions are similar of the Housing Market Observatory TOPO GES IKE, based on the data resulting from the contracts for the purchase and sale of houses registered in the Register of Real Estate Transfer Values, of the General Secretariat of Information Systems. In particular, during the first half of this year in the Municipality of Athens the average house sold was 16% more expensive than in 2022 and 34% compared to 2021. Accordingly, in the southern suburbs the price of the average property increased by 39% year-on-year to 1,820 euro/sq.m. (146,000 euros on average) and by 43% compared to 2021. As is evident, the prices declared in the contracts seem to be subordinate to the commercial prices, as the average sale price in the southern suburbs is estimated to exceed 3,000 euros/m today .m.
In the western suburbs, the average sale price increased by 20% from last year and by 39% compared to 2021. In the center of Piraeus during the first half the price of the average property transferred increased by 47% compared to 2022.
Big increase in Piraeus
According to TOPO GMS IKE’s analysis, “during the first half of 2023, it seems that the upward trend in the residential market in Attica is returning with Piraeus as the big “winner”, where the increase is very large. The areas that had slowed down, namely Eastern Attica, the suburbs of Piraeus, the northern and western suburbs, show a significant increase in sales and follow the areas that until now led the race, such as the center of Athens and the southern suburbs. It seems clear that the Golden Visa policy change has played its part in shaping the market in these regions as a whole. In addition, the increase in the declared value of real estate is also clear, which far exceeds previous years, especially in the areas where the amount of 250,000 euros remained in the Golden Visa”, concludes the company.
