by admin In the twelve months of April 2022 – March 2023, the volume of transactions in the whole country fell by 12.45% on an annual basis
House prices may continue their upward trend, as they increased by 14.5% year-on-year in the country as a whole in the first quarter of this year, but transaction volumes are following the opposite trend. The above conclusion results from the study of the Research and Analysis Department of Cerved Property Services, which was based on the available data of the Registry of Transfers of Values of the General Secretariat of Information Systems. More specifically, during the twelve months of April 2022 – March 2023, the volume of transactions throughout the country fell by 12.45% on an annual basis. Larger or smaller decreases were recorded in the vast majority of the regions of the Greek territory, while there were only a few regions that recorded an increase.
Residential transfers
In the Municipality of Athens the recorded transfers were lower by 7.56%, recording a better performance than the whole country, while in the Municipality of Thessaloniki there was a decrease of 18.16%. The prefectures of tourist interest were among the few regions of the country that registered increase: 15.69% in the prefecture of Chania, 9.9% in the Dodecanese, 1.85% in Halkidiki, while the touristic islands of the Cyclades, Mykonos, Santorini, Paros and Tinos, recorded an increase of 4.9%.
With reference to Attica, in the entire prefecture the number of transfers fell by 13.20%, with the largest drop recorded in the regions of Eastern Attica by -17.88%, in the northern and western suburbs bu -16.55%, while in the southern suburbs, Piraeus and the other municipalities of Piraeus Prefecture, the decline was more moderate, by -10.17%, -9.71% and -11.7% respectively. Nevertheless, there were a few regions of Attica with a positive increase such as Vrilissia, Chalandri, Papagou, Haidari, Korydallos, Ilioupoli, Glyfada and Vouliagmeni.
Looking at the evolution of transfers across the country over time, the upward trends recorded by the Register of Securities Transfers peaked at the end of 2019, but then frozen in 2020 due to the pandemic. In 2021 they recovered and despite the geopolitical turmoil and the unfavorable economic situation, there was a peak of transfers in 2022, with a significant share of participation by foreign investors. Today, the areas of the country that either maintain or even show an increase in the number of transfers, are the areas of tourist and investment interest, such as Athens, Glyfada, Vouliagmeni and the tourist islands; the areas that concern mainly Greek buyers generally show a decrease with minimal exceptions.
It should be noted that the information obtained from the Registry of Transfers of Values of the General Secretariat of Information Systems refers to all transfers, including intra-family transfers and not only transactions between third parties. Intra-family transfers taking place in 2022 were more than usual due to an increase in the tax-free limit from €150,000 to €800,000 in parental donations. This means that for this period, transactions between third parties were even less. It is a fact that the Registry as a source has limitations. But there are no other figures available that could more accurately approximate the volumes of “real” transactions. The analysis of the volume of transactions is very important because it expresses (with the shortest time overlap) the trends of the real estate market. These are followed by the changes in transaction prices and lastly the nominative prices, on which real estate indices are mainly based.
Source of data: Ministry of Finance Transfer Values Register (Data Retrieval: 16/6/2023) – Processing: CPS Research & Analysis Directorate
Source of article: OT Newsroom 26/6/2023
https://www.ot.gr/2023/06/26/oikonomia/akinita/katoikies-oi-times-anevainoun-alla-oi-ogkoi-synallagon-ypoxoroun/