Property sales up 34% in 2023
Official data show expenditure of 18 billion euros by real estate buyers in total last year
Last year saw property worth a total of 18 billion euros change hands last year, according to figures from the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE). In fact, property sales in 2023 recorded a 34% increase in value compared to 2022, while data show that sales will remain at high levels this year as well.
Essentially, real estate sales continue to contribute to the growth of the Greek economy, competing with tourism receipts, which reached €20.5 billion the previous year.
The amount of €18 billion concerns sales of apartments, offices and plots of land. A total of 174,475 properties were sold, compared to 144,053 in 2022, up 21.1%.
That the average value of real estate sold increased within a year from €96,000 in 2022 to €106,000 in 2023, while a further increase to €108,000 has been recorded in the first five months of this year. The value of the properties is significantly higher, as in several cases – if not in most – the transactions are made at the levels of assets’ taxable rate (“objective value”).
At the same time, the above data refer to real estate transfers made only through the Myproperty online application – i.e. real estate transfers made to the tax authorities, as well as plots of land, are not included.
In essence, the AADE figures come to confirm the upward trends recorded in real estate prices in recent years, magnifying the housing problem in the country.
Data from the Real Estate Transfer Values Register show the gap between objective values and commercial values has widened considerably, more than three years after the new zone prices were applied to property transfers. The biggest differences are found mainly in popular areas of the center of Athens, and the southern and northern suburbs of Attica. At the same time, the gap is closing between sales of new and old properties.
For example, an apartment of 246.1 square meters on the 4th floor in Glyfada was bought at the price of €1.6 million, or €6,550/sq.m., while the objective value there is €4,250/sq.m. That is, this property was sold at a price 50% higher than the objective value.
