Property could ease debt woes
Better management of Greece’s property assets, estimated to be worth more than 300 billion euros, could help the country solve its fiscal woes, according to a property expert. Ilias Ziogas, a representative of the European Group of Valuers’ Associations (TEGoVA), told a conference in Athens yesterday that revenues from Greece’s 300 billion euros’ worth of property assets, including those owned by social security funds, could help ease the government’s fiscal problems but added «that the road is long» to get to the point where property is fully utilized. Problems hampering the better management of real estate assets include bureaucracy and the large number of ministries involved in the decision-making process, added Ziogas. According to press reports, the government is putting together a plan to make better use of its property portfolio due to the large fiscal pressure it faces but no announcements have been made. Greece’s public debt stands at 300 billion euros.
