Interest in buying a house seems to be reduced, if we take into account the findings of the latest 3rd Barometer of the Real Estate Market of the University of Macedonia that was recently released.
In particular, according to the Barometer data presented at an event on real estate organized by Mr. Elias Papageorgiadis a few days ago, compared to May 2024 (2nd Barometer) in November the percentage of those interested in buying property appears reduced to 22% from 28%.
Sellers also show a decrease from 9% to 7%. In general, this trend is attributed to the lack of supply of properties, a problem that is expected to worsen further with the launch of the "My House 2" programme.
Looking to buy and rent in Attica
At the same event, data on the preferences of Greek and foreign investors, as well as market trends, based on the searches of Spitogatos, as presented by its CEO Dimitris Melachroninos, were also presented.
In Attica, searches for the residential market have shown stability over the last 3 years, with the center of Athens, Glyfada, Chalandri, Kifissia, Piraeus, Maroussi, Nea Smyrni, Paleo Faliro, Kallithea and Agia Paraskevi in the top positions.
At the same time, searches for rental properties had even greater interest and mobility, revealing "underground" market trends. Always first is the greater downtown area (Municipality of Athens) with Kallithea consistently second. In third place is Halandri above Glyfada, followed by Nea Smyrni, Piraeus, Maroussi, Zografou, Palaio Faliro and Ilioupoli.
Mr.Melachroninos noted the rise of Halandri and the slight fall of Glyfada compared to 2022, as well as the entry of Heliopolis for the first time in the list.
7 out of 10 are looking for a property worth 50,000-200,000 euros
"Of the 22% who declare themselves "prospective buyers", only 15% want to make a purchase immediately or within six months. Within one year 17.5% responded, within three years 26.5% and "in the future" said 39.5%," the 3rd Barometer noted.
Of interest is also the buyers' budget for home purchase: Based on the same survey (with a sample of 1,500 people in the prefectures of Attica and Thessaloniki) 71% want to buy a property worth 50,000 - 200,000 euros (29.5% 100,000 - 150,000), 11.5% are aiming for a property priced between 200,000 and 300,000 euros, 4.5% are interested in properties worth more than 300,00 euros and 6% with a price of up to 50,000 euros. 69.5% want to buy a house for housing needs and 29% for investment.
Almost 7 out of 10 buyers (69.5%) will need a bank loan to complete their purchase, but at the same time 64.5% of all citizens find it rather difficult/difficult to access such a loan and 75% consider that the interest rates are high/future high. It is worth noting that this percentage (75%) was 81.5% 6 months ago.
Changing characteristics of sellers
Of interest at the same time is the change in the incentives for which sellers sell their properties. Those who need the money to meet other needs fell from 47% (May) to 31%.
The number who want to sell to buy another property fell less (from 34.5% to 30%), while the cumulative percentage of those who want to invest in something else, those who think the price is reasonable and those who are selling because they expect prices to fall doubled from 17% in May to 36% in November.
The housing problem
At the same time, 88% of citizens consider housing to be a fairly big / very big problem. The problem is considered even bigger by young people aged 17-34 (95.5%), residents of Thessaloniki (91%) and real estate professionals who live the market every day (92%).
At the same time, 95.5% of the population considers rents high / very high, but 57.5% expect a new increase in the next 12 months.
It is estimated that the housing supply shortage will be further exacerbated following the launch of My House, 2, which will put pressure on the already anaemic supply of homes at prices considered reasonable by buyers.
Based on an analysis of the distribution of available homes for sale that meet the criteria announced for "My House, 2" by Spitogatos Insights, it is observed that in Attica, the Centre of Athens and the Southern Suburbs concentrate more than 55% of the available homes that could be purchased through the programme. This is followed by the Western Suburbs and Piraeus Suburbs which constitute just over 8% of the available homes that meet the requirements of the programme.
"They see a bubble" in prices but expect... a rise
According to the same survey, the majority of Greek society shows stability in its approach to the rise in real estate prices in recent years. 66% find it "incomprehensible/unreasonable/bubble", with the "bubble" remaining steady at 24.5% of the total.
At the same time, however, the majority expect another rise, and indeed the number of those who subscribe to this prediction has increased over the last six months. In particular, 51% expect prices to rise in the next 12 months (56% had this opinion 6 months ago).
Also, 45% expect interest in the housing market to remain strong (43.5% 6 months ago) and 65.5% expect house prices to rise in the next six months in the city where they live (65% 6 months ago). 55% expect older home prices to rise in the next six months and 75% expect new home prices to rise (same percentages as 6 months ago).
The reversal with the land market in Attica
Coming back to the Spitogatos data, and in terms of land purchase searches, this year's ranking was: 1st place was the Municipality of Athens, followed by Kifissia, Chalandri, Glyfada, Artemis and Loutsa, Maroussi, Vari and Varkiza, Voula, Agia Paraskevi and Markopoulo. While in 2022 8 out of 10 search areas were in the Northern Suburbs, in 2024 they dropped to 4 out of 10.
At the same time interest in the Southern Suburbs has increased and for the first time we see a lot of movement towards the East, with two areas appearing for the first time (Artemida-Loutsa, Markopoulo).
What's going on in the Lekanopedio with Greeks and foreigners
As it also shows, in 2024 foreigners were willing to invest an average of 231,625 euros to buy a home in Attica, compared to 216,688 euros for Greeks. The largest discrepancies are recorded in the Southern Suburbs, with foreigners willing to pay +38% more than Greeks, followed by Piraeus with +22%.
Greeks set higher search price thresholds in 3 areas: Central Athens (+19%), Eastern Suburbs (+9%) and Piraeus Suburbs (+4%).
"In the centre they are all looking for property for short term rental," it is noted. In rentals it is again foreigners who seem ready to pay more money, with the average asking price being 787 Euros / month, compared to the 668 Euros / month that Greeks (who are of course outnumbered) want to offer. In the individual areas, foreigners lead everywhere, with the exception of the Eastern Suburbs, where Greeks are offering +4% higher rents than foreigners.
Thessaloniki.
The housing market in Thessaloniki did not hide any big surprise. Kalamaria is consistently first, the city centre follows and then we find Evosmos, Toumba, Thermi, Pylaia, Thermaikos, Panorama, the area "Analipsi-Botsari-Nea Paralia" and Sikies.
As commented at the event, at present the metro is approached more as an opportunity to change business rather than residential accommodation, while the rise of Panorama in searches and its appearance in the top ten of Sykia was also noted.
Kalamaria also leads in residential rentals, with the centre of Thessaloniki following, Evosmos, Toumba, Pylia and Thermi further behind. The top ten is closed by the areas "Analipsi - Botsari - Nea Paralia", Stavroupoli, Charilaou and "Voulgari - Depeau - Martiou".
"Here the stability is almost absolute", as Mr. Melachronos commented.
As far as the land market is concerned, as in Attica, the changes in Thessaloniki are very big. Thermi has shot to the top of the search list, followed by Thermaikos, Pylaia, Chortiatis, Evosmos, Oreokastro, Stavroupoli, Panorama, Kalamaria and Epanomi. Evkarpia from 1 in 2022 is not on the 2024 list at all, while Evosmos is in a big drop in searches, as is Kalamaria.
At the same time in rapid rise we find Thermi, Pylaia and Chortiatis, while Epanomi made its entry in the 10th place for the first time.
In the prefecture of Thessaloniki, Greeks are willing to spend an average of 129,100 Euros on house purchases (with the average dropping due to the areas around Thessaloniki, in the city the amount is much higher). Foreigners follow with just 106,083 Euros. Greeks pay 22% more for a house in the city and +32% on the outskirts, while in the rest of the prefecture they pay +6%.
In rentals the situation is exactly the opposite. Foreigners are the ones who can afford more, ready to pay on average Euro / month, while Greeks remain at 505 Euro (again the average drops from the region of Thessaloniki). Turning to the individual units, foreigners are willing to pay +12% higher rents in the city centre, +3% in the outskirts and +26% in the rest of the prefecture.
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