House sales in Greece start to slow as prices rise
The first signs of a slowdown have emerged in the housing market, in terms of the number of purchases and sales.
After the price rally observed in the last two years, the areas where demand comes mainly from Greek buyers have started to record a decline, as has the number of those who have the financial ability amid the current climate of uncertainty and high interest rates.
This is the main conclusion from an annual survey by the Housing Market Observatory of Topo GES IKE, a member of the RE/MAX network of real estate offices, and based on data from the register of real estate transfer values at the General Secretariat of Information Systems in 2022.
In the northern suburbs of Athens there was an 8% drop in the number of sales compared to 2021, in Eastern Attica that drop came to 15% and in the western suburbs 6%. A 12% decrease in sales was also noted in Piraeus, while sales of houses in the suburbs of the port city fell by 3%.
A common characteristic of these areas is the large price increases declared in the respective purchase and sale contracts, as well as the fact that the buying public comprises mainly Greeks.
