House prices stay put in Q2
The advance of the residential property market halted in the second quarter of the year, due to the coronavirus restrictions, resulting in asking prices remaining virtually unchanged from the first quarter, according to data from the Spitogatos Property Index (SPI) compiled by the spitogatos.gr property ads website.
This vindicates property market professionals who had been speaking of a wait-and-see stance by potential buyers as well as sellers until the repercussions of the recession became clearer.
The SPI, which tracks asking prices based on published online ads, showed that the average sale price in the April-June period remained unchanged at 1,544 euros per square meter across Greece, while in the first quarter it had stood at €1,545/sq.m.
On an annual basis, however, the shift is more evident, pointing to the course the market will follow in the next few months: In comparison with the second quarter of 2019 prices have risen 4.8%, while over the fourth quarter the rise had come to 6%. This slowdown recorded is projected to become even more pronounced in the second half of the year.
In its latest monetary policy report, the Bank of Greece noted that areas dominated by foreign buyers would suffer most in terms of residential properties.