State property valued
The Hellenic Public Real Estate Corporation (KED) a few days ago completed its valuation of all state property, which adds up to some 272 billion euros. The calculation was based on the minimum level of the so-called «objective» values of each region, i.e. the official property prices used for tax purposes. Consequently, the value of the 71,000 state-owned properties is equivalent to roughly 112.5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, according to KED’s Director of Corporate Development, Vasilis Maglaras. This recording of state properties and the calculation of their value have been carried out for the first time and, in the opinion of the Director General of the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE), Yannis Stournaras, this can bolster Greece’s negotiating position and even reverse the present negative climate by contributing to the reduction of the public debt and the cost of borrowing. KED has used complex assessment models with the assistance of new technologies, including satellite systems, in order to collect all the information required to register all public property, Maglaras said. Stournaras added that until a few days ago Greece had probably been the only country in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that had not recorded all of its state property, which includes real estate assets managed not only by the central administration but also by all organizations forming part of general government.
