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Spanish and Greek real estate prices still heading downwards
| Published: | 2 Sep at 6 PM |
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Due to continuing severe recessions and unemployment in Spain and Greece, house prices in the two countries are still falling, giving migrants from the UK a chance to bag a bargain.
Spain’s property prices continue in free fall after dropping by more than a third between 2008 and 2012. The fall has continued into 2013 by a further 13 per cent, leaving Spanish property values at 64 per cent of their height in 2007, the peak year for the country’s real estate market.
In both countries, house prices are now falling faster than after the 2008 crash, a worrying sign for both economies, and there is no indication in Greece of the market’s bottoming out. According to a recently-issued report by the Bank of Greece, most cities including Athens are still seeing plunging prices, with condos in the capital falling by 12.6 per cent this year alone.
Thessaloniki, Greece’s second city, has seen falls of 8.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2013, an increase on the previous quarter’s falls of 1.2 per cent. In the rest of the country’s urban areas, average falls in the same quarter were 11 per cent, a 2.9 per cent drop from the previous quarter.
According to the report, property in rural regions fell by 10.9 per cent in the first three months of 2013. Even more worrying, demand is falling drastically, showing a 24.5 per cent decrease since 2012 with fewer than 5,000 sales across the country, making Greece’s house market the most distressed in the EU.
In an attempt to boost sales, the Greek government has announced that expats from non-EU member states can buy a five-year residence deal along with either renting or purchasing a property worth over £215,000. At the present time, it seems there are few takers.
Spain’s property prices continue in free fall after dropping by more than a third between 2008 and 2012. The fall has continued into 2013 by a further 13 per cent, leaving Spanish property values at 64 per cent of their height in 2007, the peak year for the country’s real estate market.
In both countries, house prices are now falling faster than after the 2008 crash, a worrying sign for both economies, and there is no indication in Greece of the market’s bottoming out. According to a recently-issued report by the Bank of Greece, most cities including Athens are still seeing plunging prices, with condos in the capital falling by 12.6 per cent this year alone.
Thessaloniki, Greece’s second city, has seen falls of 8.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2013, an increase on the previous quarter’s falls of 1.2 per cent. In the rest of the country’s urban areas, average falls in the same quarter were 11 per cent, a 2.9 per cent drop from the previous quarter.
According to the report, property in rural regions fell by 10.9 per cent in the first three months of 2013. Even more worrying, demand is falling drastically, showing a 24.5 per cent decrease since 2012 with fewer than 5,000 sales across the country, making Greece’s house market the most distressed in the EU.
In an attempt to boost sales, the Greek government has announced that expats from non-EU member states can buy a five-year residence deal along with either renting or purchasing a property worth over £215,000. At the present time, it seems there are few takers.
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