Local property market frozen since January 1

The property market appears to have been in hibernation mode over the first few weeks of the year, firstly as a result of the abstention of notaries from implementing transactions and secondly because the clauses regarding the suspension of the 24 percent value-added tax have not yet been applied since the necessary circulars or ministerial decisions have still not been issued.

Consequently, construction company owner Athanasios Christakis tells Kathimerini, it has not been possible to complete any property transactions in the country since the beginning of 2020.

“Practically any property falling into the VAT exemption regulation – i.e. with a building permit issued after January 2006 – cannot be transferred as the law is inactive without the application circulars,” says Christakis, who is also a board member of the Hellenic Association for Construction Quality and Development (SEPAK).

“The first month of 2020 has been all but lost, and we are now looking forward to an immediate solution to the problem so that the absorption of the stock of unsold homes can begin; that is crucial as supply is expected to increase further in the coming months,” says Dimitris Kapsimalis, president of the Federation of Building Constructors in Greece.