Property in Greece remains unsold

property in greece remains unslold During the current recession, one of the sectors of economic and commercial life facing the biggest problems is the real estate market.

What is more, the country properties present a major problem, as the vast majority of them remain unsold.

This comes as no surprise, due to the little or limited financial capabilities of people today, however for the professionals of the real estate market, this is a really hard time.

Both Greeks and foreigners are quite cautious, as the purchase of a second – holiday – house, is considered to be an unnecessary luxury for the time being.

The areas with the biggest problems, so far, are the ones where professionals invested in the construction and promotion of vacation villas and properties, with a view to selling them mainly to foreigners. The Greek market is now expensive and some islands, such as Mykonos, Paros, Syros, and Crete are already feeling the economic tightness of the times.

Experts in the real estate market state that much money has been invested in the holiday properties during the past years and investors will have to deal with the consequences now, as the last thing that people consider amidst a financial crisis are holiday villas. There are many properties in Greece that remain unsold and this will have an impact on the prices as well.

Especially in Crete, the purchase of holiday properties is reduced by 50-55% in comparison with last few years, while the 37% of the new built houses remain unsold. At the same time, people have a hard time dealing with their loans and the foreclosures have multiplied.

Many of the construction companies that thrived during the previous years, have either closed, or had to file for bankruptcy; this is what happened to Hellenic Homes in Crete. Partners had to ask for protection from lenders to deal with the increasing financial difficulties.

The assessments for the rental properties are similar, as the professionals predict that the majority of them will remain free this summer. They also advise people who are interested in renting villas not to hurry, because the prices are expected to drop even more.

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Comments:

"But they still don't lower the prices!" by: John
posted at 05:44 pm on 2009-04-26

While it is clearly true that properties on Crete are not selling , Greeks are not significantly lowering the advertised prices. While Spain and the rest of the world have halved their prices to get things moving, Greeks simply won't do that. Since a lot of stuff has been built with cash, or at any rate the banks can make no money repossessing here, Greek owners just hang on to empty properties and hope to ride it out. If anything, prices have gone up for most things (eg eating out and hotels) in Chania because, perversely, the locals think "There's not enough tourists, we're not making enough money - so better put the prices up to get more money from those that are here!". Then they wonder why they stop coming, Sigh. Greek logic. Agents have told me that whatever the advertised price says, if someone puts hard cash on the table there bargains to be had. But the backwards logic market pricing is a big disincentive to even look here. Go buy a bargain in Spain where the sellers understand economics, not here.