Reconfiguration in the “map” of the domestic market caused by the coronavirus pandemic – Increases of up to 24% in sales prices in Grevena – Fall of 10.3% in the Sporades
Changes and rearrangements in the “map” of the domestic real estate market were caused by the coronavirus pandemic, creating new data on the sale and rental prices of homes and businesses, but also bringing to the fore the logistics and tourism sectors. The penetration of teleworking combined with the vertical rise of e-commerce lead to a new regularity, which is expected to take shape after the final end of the health crisis and the normalization of the situation, shaping a new landscape in the Greek real estate market. In general, however, the location of the property and the right quality of construction are timeless values that are more resistant to shocks.
Of particular interest are the changes that occurred in the sale and rental prices of homes in major urban centers in the last year of the pandemic. Areas such as the southern suburbs of Attica maintained and strengthened their dynamics, in contrast to the center of the capital which showed slight stagnation. In particular, according to a research by the real estate classifieds website Spitogatos, for the change of the requested prices in Attica and Thessaloniki, the Greek real estate market appears particularly resistant to the sweeping passage of the pandemic, as it kept its dynamics and competitiveness.
Based on the price index of Spitogatos, from March 2020 to March 2021 in the Greek territory there is a decrease of 0.8% in the requested rental prices, while in the requested sale prices of houses there is an increase of 3.7%.
Currently, the average asking rental price in the territory is € 6.8 / sq.m. while the average asking sale price locks at € 1,244.2 / sq.m. According to the SPI, the largest annual increase in the requested rental prices is recorded in Lesvos (25%), while the largest increase in the requested selling prices is observed in Grevena (24%). On the other hand, a large decrease in the requested rental prices of houses is located in Ilia (-18.2%) while the largest decrease in the requested rental prices of houses for sale is observed in the Sporades (-10.3%).
More specifically, in Attica:
- There was a slight decrease in the requested selling prices of houses in the center of Athens of the order of 0.7%, while in the requested rental prices a decrease of -7% was observed.
- The requested rental prices in the western suburbs of Athens increased by 12.7%, while the requested selling prices by 6.3%.
- The northern suburbs of Athens recorded a similar increase in the requested rental and sale prices of 6.1% and 6.4% respectively.
- In the southern suburbs of Athens there was an increase of 5.1% in the requested selling prices of houses, while there was a decrease of -5.7% in the requested rental prices.
- The requested sale (4.2%) and rental (4.1%) prices in the eastern suburbs of Athens increased slightly more than 4%.
Alongside:
- In the islands of the Saronic Gulf we have a significant increase of 24.4% in the requested rental prices and -9.1% decrease in the requested selling prices.
- An increase in the requested rental prices (6.8%) and sale (2.3%) of houses was recorded in the rest of Attica.
- In Piraeus, the requested selling prices increased by 3.7% while the requested rental prices decreased by -3.5%. In the suburbs of Piraeus there was an increase of 10.2% in the requested rental prices and 9.7% in the requested sale prices of houses.
In Thessaloniki:
- In the Municipality of Thessaloniki the requested selling prices increased by 4.4% while the rental prices decreased by 2.9%.
- A similar increase was recorded in the requested selling prices (5%) and rental (5.6%) in the regional municipalities of Thessaloniki.
- In the other areas of the prefecture there was a small decrease in the requested selling prices by 1.2%.
Logistics & hotels
In the meantime, new data is formed in the other categories of real estate, which gather different dynamics depending on the category to which they belong. Logistics is considered one of the most up-and-coming categories, with the demand for storage centers with modern specifications and in current locations close to the major cities of the country being particularly high thanks to the rapid growth of e-commerce. There is still demand for smaller logistics buildings that will be on the outskirts of cities or within them and will serve the needs of the day or two. Tourism is estimated to return dynamically when things return to normal and normalcy returns. It is no coincidence that a number of new hotels are preparing to operate both in Athens and in various parts of the country.
The expansion of teleworking is coming to put new rules in the operation of office space as companies are estimated to need fewer surfaces. Which implies a reduction in prices as the percentage of vacant, unallocated spaces will increase. The old type offices should be radically renovated in order to modernize, in order to attract interest, since the focus is on the very high modern offices, the “green” buildings. In this category there is stability of prices and rents at high levels, but there is not enough products or usually at this time we have the development of new buildings that is done to order by those interested. In contrast, the department store sector, with the exception of supermarkets and pharmacies, has been hit hard by the pandemic and the rise of e-commerce.
Holiday homes
The holiday home, moreover, is moving at low to zero rates in terms of demand, both from foreigners and Greeks, and this is a result of the pandemic.
Stores
The department store sector – especially those related to the use of health care as well as clothing, footwear and other industries, as well as the stores located in shopping malls – has been severely affected.
There are of course stores such as e.g. the supermarkets and pharmacies that saw their turnovers grow and therefore are the lucky ones.