Koukaki sees property sale rates soar
Koukaki, the central Athens neighborhood at the foot of the Acropolis, has been living in a parallel economic universe compared to other parts of the capital, thanks to the boom in short-term leasing becoming part of the investment plans of foreign investors.
According to estate agency data, a renovated apartment at Koukaki could currently be sold at a rate of 1,500-1,600 euros per square meter, while just a few months ago there were even some transactions recorded at as much as 2,000 euros/sq.m. Such rates have never been seen before, not even at the peak of the property market in the previous decade.
Cosmas Theodoridis, the vice president of the Athens-Attica Estate Agents Association and head of the Polis Properties estate agency network, tells Kathimerini that “in 2013 we had sold a flat of 50 sq.m. for 23,000 euros. Today a similar, neighboring property is on sale for 56,000 euros.”
Theodoridis explains that the skyrocketing of short-term, Airbnb-type leasing – a phenomenon seen on an international scale – has resulted in the big spike in property values in Koukaki in particular, which is attributed to huge demand from private investors from abroad, as well as from companies and even some investment funds.
