Greek Real Estate: Thessaloniki is champion in the housing market

The people of Thessaloniki are proving to be fans of… home ownership, as the acquisition of their own roof seems to have monopolized the sales that took place in 2022.

The people of Thessaloniki emerge as champions in the housing market compared to the rest of the Greeks, since according to data from a study carried out by RE/MAX Greece, which has 81 offices and more than 1,000 real estate consultants throughout the territory, 90.2% of the properties sold in the previous years in Thessaloniki it concerned residences.

The corresponding percentage in Attica was 87.3% while in the rest of Greece it was limited to 68.5%.

It is worth noting that out of all properties sold in Thessaloniki, in addition to the residential properties that monopolized interest, the other sales concerned 4.7% plots of land and 5.1% commercial properties.

The tendency for citizens to acquire their own residence continues unabated in Thessaloniki, as reported by voria.gr, and in the first months of 2023, with the result that the demand is significantly increased in relation to the supply. The formed picture leads to a surge in prices, which raises questions about how long the upward trend in prices can continue.

Properties chosen

Apartments, single-family houses and maisonettes older than 20 years were mainly chosen by the people of Thessaloniki . In this way they secured lower prices compared to comparable newer properties and future capital gains.

Specifically, 74.1% of buyers chose a residential property over twenty years old, 8.6% homes from 11 to 15 years old, 7.8% newly built or less than 5 years old, 6.9% from 16 up to 20 years, while houses from 6 to 10 years were acquired by 2.6% of buyers.

The picture is almost the same nationwide regarding the age distribution of the properties sold. Focusing on residential properties, given that they have the highest sales rates across the country, it follows that the trend of previous years continues, with interest being focused on old homes over 20 years of construction at a rate of 73.6%, while newly built and up to 5 years they reached 7.8%. The intermediate age categories of real estate, i.e. from 11 to 15 years, gathered the interest of 7.7% of the final buyers in total, while from 6 to 10 years only 3.1%.

The picture of home ownership nationwide

However, as can be seen from the most recent nationwide data from ELSTAT, in 2021 the percentage of owner-occupied housing was at its lowest ever level as it was 73.3%, marginally lower than 73.9% in 2020. In 2019, the percentage of owner-occupied housing in the country ours was 75.4%.

Between 2019 and 2021, Greece lost 2.1 percentage points, i.e. in absolute terms, around 82,947 homes. A large part of the above residences may have been “lost”, according to experts in the real estate market, due to the auctions. At the same time, part of the property owners with debts to banking institutions may have wanted to pay off their debt amount by selling their property, choosing now to live in a rented residence.

In addition, a segment of owners chose to exploit their properties through short-term rental and/or to sell their residence due to the increase in selling prices, to domestic or non-domestic investors who acquired them to exploit them.

It is noted that the ownership was at its peak in 2005, when it reached 84.6%. It was the period when the mortgage market was at its zenith, access to bank financing was very easy for almost all households, even at a time when sales prices recorded successive increases.