by admin The market share of second-hand properties on all sales that take place is now increasing, since the cost of buying a newly built home is considered prohibitive for the majority of households. A large portion of real estate buyers turn to second-hand properties as prices are lower than new constructions but there is more room for negotiation with sellers. At the same time, the cost of buying an old property is lower than a newly built one, so the requested loan amount from the bank will be smaller. However, depending on the area, one can find significant opportunities as there are quite a few cases of owners selling properties due to liabilities.
The real estate research
Research by RE/MAX is revealing, according to which old property rules. Focusing on residential properties, given that they have the highest sales rates across the country, it follows that the trend of previous years continues, with interest being focused on old homes over 20 years of construction at a rate of 73.6%, while newly built and up to 5 years-old reached 7.8%. The intermediate age categories of real estate, i.e. from 11 to 15 years, gathered the interest of 7.7% of the final buyers in total, while those from 6 to 10 years only 3.1%. In Attica, 80.3% of the sold properties were older than 20 years, in contrast to the newly built and new (up to five years) that covered only 6% of the total sales. The same trend is reflected in the sales that took place in Thessaloniki: the highest percentages of preference are found in properties over 20 years old at a rate of 74.1%, while on the opposite side are newly built buildings up to 5 years old which moved at almost the same levels as 2021 (6%), covering 7.8% of total sales. In the regions of the rest of Greece (except Attica and Thessaloniki), 71.7% of buyers preferred old homes (over 20 years old) and 9.1% homes between 16 and 20 years old. Newly built properties aged up to 5 years were chosen by 8.3% of buyers, essentially approaching the levels of 2020 (7%). This trend is due to the fact that older properties are sold at more affordable prices than newer properties.
BoG
It is noted that the Head Executive of the Bank of Greece (BoG) Y. Stournaras, in his report on the Greek economy, states that “expectations for the Greek real estate market remain positive, despite the uncertainties in the domestic and global economy. However, any forecast for the medium-term development of the market is quite precarious at the present time, as on the one hand relevant domestic indicators show mixed trends and on the other hand the strong real estate markets of Europe ‒ and not only ‒ seem to be already on the path of a significant correction in the number of transactions, prices and returns. Considering that the Greek market is differentiated in terms of its characteristics, that the rates of price growth have been milder in recent years compared to other countries and that yields are still at attractive levels, but also on the condition of the absence of new unforeseen events, property prices, and especially high-end properties, are expected to continue to attract increased interest.”
Source: Andromache Pavlou, 18/5/2023
https://www.ot.gr/2023/05/18/oikonomia/akinita-strofi-ton-ypopsifion-agoraston-sta-metaxeirismena-akinita/