Housing construction thriving
Construction companies are staging their own comeback in the residential property market. They wish to make the most of the gradual increase in demand by domestic buyers, the banks’ effort to resuscitate the mortgage credit market by increasing loan issues, and the suspension of the value-added tax on new buildings that will continue to apply till end-2022.
In this context new residential buildings are springing up in Attica, especially in the northern and southern suburbs of Athens, confirmed by a new survey by the real estate academy of the Newdeal estate agency and consultancy.
The survey showed that in certain areas, such as Glyfada, southern Athens, one in three assets currently for sale are new, with an average price of 5,200 euros per square meter. Likewise 41% of properties for sale at Nea Smyrni are new builds.
In the northern suburbs, the Newdeal survey found that in districts such as Vrilissia new residential buildings account for 32% of properties for sale, with their average rate at €3,500/sq.m.
Southern Athens is expected to remain the main attraction for builders, given the large demand recorded before the pandemic, mainly by buyers from abroad. The gradual development of the so-called “Athens Riviera,” through a series of investments led by the Elliniko project, has attracted strong interest from potential buyers abroad, a trend expected to re-emerge in the market from the start of 2022, with the return of investors from other countries.
According to Christos Bletas, chief executive officer at the Newdeal Real Estate Group, the pandemic has not stopped construction. The main reasons for that were “the suspension of VAT, the development program for Elliniko, the expectations for attracting foreign investors through the Golden Visa program, the forecasts for an economic rebound and the long freeze on construction in previous years. I would also add the pandemic itself has forced us to stay in and see life through a different, more demanding perspective,” Bletas says.
The survey also showed the ratio of new houses for sale in Attica to older ones in the market amounts to 12%.
