Rents in Greece: How E-commerce is changing store prices

Demand offices and shops to rent moved upwards in 2022, while the forecast for 2023 is similar.

In fact, the purchasing interest of investors is consistently high, especially for office buildings but also for stores of new specifications, while e-commerce has affected property prices in physical stores as shown by the Cerved Property Services (CPS) survey, which was based on the responses of 200 real estate market professionals in Greece.

“Teleworking has favored the new generation of newly built offices, increased the quality requirements of users and intensified the need for housing in spaces that are safe, flexible, comfortable, bioclimatic and of high standards” is noted in the survey.

In contrast, the picture for lower-end properties shows a decline in rental demand for 2023.

As far as stores are concerned, it appears that e-commerce has affected the prices of physical stores.

“Consumers now want to enjoy the advantages of physical stores as well as online shopping, and the shift from physical stores to e-commerce has affected the store market, turning the interest of investors and tenants almost exclusively to prime locations.

“Thus, the demand for rent in the most commercial streets of Athens, Thessaloniki, Glyfada, Kifissia and Piraeus, but also in the established shopping centers, is still high due to the lack of empty shops, while new large-scale projects are underway in the retail sector, mainly shopping centers and commercial parks which are expected to add an additional 170,000 sq.m. in the store market,” noted the survey.