By Nikos Roussanoglou

The summer retail sales may officially last until the end of August -- with significant discounts for apparel and homeware -- but bargains in the housing market will be around for far longer, as the slump persists.

Price drops in real estate are expected to continue being particularly attractive, given that the acquisition of a home today can cost up to 50 percent less than its original price. There are many such examples in almost every part of the capital, while the phenomenon is gradually expanding to other cities as well.

According to data from estate agents, one constructor in Pangrati near the center of Athens is offering a newly-built apartment of 80 square meters at 1,500 euros/sq.m., against an original price of 2,500 euros/sq.m. -- meaning a 40-percent discount. In Nikea, near Piraeus, another constructor is asking 1,200 euros/sq.m. for a newly-built apartment, which is almost the cost of the construction plus the price of the plot, against an original asking price of 2,000 euros/sq.m.

In yet another instance, in Halandri, north of Athens, an apartment built in 2009 that remains unsold is being offered at a rate of 1,500 euros/sq.m. (140,000 euros in total). The average asking price in the area today stands at between 2,700 and 3,000 euros/sq.m., while prices peaked in 2006-2007 at 3,500 euros/sq.m., without any margin for negotiations for buyers.

The possibility to haggle for a lower price is indeed the biggest difference in the real estate market today.

Lefteris Potamianos, head of the Search & Find estate agency, says that there are very few constructors left who can afford to insist on their asking prices.

“About 25 percent of constructors are on the verge of bankruptcy, which means that professionals in the sector proceed to serious discounts, between 40 and 60 percent, while another 60 percent of constructors makes discounts between 30 and 35 percent in order to secure a sale,” says Potamianos.

The problem for constructors is that demand is meager, given that only a small number of Greeks still have the capacity of bank funding, while many potential buyers will postpone the acquisition of a house over concerns that they may suffer further cuts to their earnings.

True, there are more and more constructors trying to offload unsold properties, which across the country are estimated to number between 200,000 and 270,000. Just a few months ago it was hard to find discounts of more than 25 percent in the market, but nowadays a growing number of constructors are opting for rates reduced by more than 30 percent.

This trend has, meanwhile, gained momentum with the introduction of an extraordinary property tax that has taken a heavy toll on constructors with property on their hands. It is also they who will have to pay a new, unified property tax that is slated to be introduced as of next year.

According to Panos Danos, head of the Danos & Associates BNP Paribas Real Estate, prices will continue their correction course over the next few years at the same pace, at least for as long as Greece is facing a loan crisis. Should things take a turn for the worse, prices will be similarly affected, he adds.

The latest Bank of Greece data for the first quarter of 2012 show that house rates generally declined by 9.3 percent year-on-year, while for houses built in the last five years the reduction amounted to 10.3 percent and for older houses to 8.6 percent.