Over €8 bln spent on houses in Greece last year
Data show that those looking for financing to buy property are those with low liquidity
The funds invested last year in the housing market nationwide are estimated at over 8 billion euros, highlighting the upward trend in demand but also in prices.
This amount is high considering both the fact that banks no longer finance 100% of the value of properties to be purchased, and the fact that only 20% of purchases and sales are made through bank lending.
Therefore, according to Bank of Greece figures, a total of €1.1 billion was disbursed in housing loans in 2022, an amount which, although it was increased by 42% compared to 2021, still matches only 10% of the corresponding funds granted in period of the bubble in the real estate market. As noted by the Bank of Greece, in the period 2005-2007, on average, sums of the order of 12 billion euros were disbursed annually.
For 2022, it is estimated that banks finance approximately 65% of the value of the property to be acquired. This means that the total value of the properties acquired with bank loans amounted to €1.45 billion. If this amount was 20% of the total, then the total value of the investments made in the real estate market amounted to some €8.4 billion. It is recalled that only €2 billion flowed in from abroad for the purchase of real estate in Greece.
Another interesting element lies in the low value of the properties financed by the banks. According to BoG data for the fourth quarter, total home loan disbursements reached €337 million, an increase of 31.4% year-on-year. A total of 4,069 loans were granted, with an average value of €82,700, with the financing rate being 61% of the value. This means that the average value of properties acquired with a loan during the last three months of 2022 was only €115,000. That is a clear indication that those looking for financing to buy property are those with low liquidity.
However, during the fourth quarter of the year, the total investments made are estimated to have exceeded 2.15 billion euros, if purchases financed exclusively with equity capital are also counted.
