Western suburbs lead house price surge
Affordable property is drying up in Athens as once cheaper areas catch up with upmarket ones
In the not so recent past, Athens’ western suburbs tended to be an option for home buyers whose finances precluded them from searching in the northern or southern parts of the capital, or in eastern Attica, which developed rapidly between from the 1990s to late 00s.
Affordable areas to buy property are drying up as the money needed to buy a house in the western suburbs of Athens is the same for one in the more affluent southern or even the northern suburbs, two or three years ago.
For example, an old apartment in the area of Peristeri today costs around 1,500 euros/sq.m., which was the asking price until a few years ago for residences in Holargos in the north or Alimos in the south.
This trend is explained by the sharp increase in prices, especially in areas where values had declined the most during the crisis. These areas are now recording a higher rate of price increases, which also limits the choices of potential buyers.
Indicatively, the average sales price in the western suburbs has increased by 20% since last year and by 39% compared to 2021. According to the Observatory of House Price Values, overseen by Geoaxis, a company of certified real estate appraisers, the sale prices of old houses recorded an annual average increase of 13.8% in the third quarter, tantamount to an average price increase of 41.4% compared to just two years ago.
This also comes at a time of soaring lending rates.
Overall, the price data of Geoaxis, which focuses its analysis on five representative areas of Attica, demonstrated that the biggest rise in 2021-2023 concerned old apartments in Holargos. A property that currently costs 2,235 euros/sq.m. represents an increase of 49% (12.6% annually).
In Maroussi, the average price for a typical property is 1,850 euros/sq.m. (for used properties), an increase of 45% compared to 2021 and 71% compared to 2014.
“The sharp price hike will probably slow down in coming months due to shrinking demand. This will happen because of rising borrowing rates, rising costs of construction/renovation materials and energy costs, leading potential buyers to adopt a wait-and-see attitude,” said Ioannis Xylas, head of Geoaxis.
By no means, he added is the market experiencing a bubble, as the level of supply is still very limited compared to demand, especially for newly built apartments.
