ECONOMY

Starting prices at auctions set to take a dive

The Greek government and the country’s international creditors agreed on Tuesday that repossessed properties as well as real estate being put up for sale by the state will have a starting price of two-thirds of their market value at auction, after the government convinced the troika against an initial asking price of just one-third of the value.

“If there are no buyers at two-thirds, then we will go to half the price. If there is nothing then either, it will be up to the courts,” said a top Finance Ministry official on Tuesday.

This means that auctions which have already been planned are unlikely to find any buyers willing to pay the full market value given that starting prices will drop significantly after the change is introduced.

Consequently the state properties advertised on publicrevenue.gr will be auctioned off at a lower price than the one currently asked after the change is introduced. For instance, with the implementation of the new starting prices, it will be possible to purchase a detached house in Markopoulo with a market value of 169,600 euros for just 111,936 euros.

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