Assets: Record year-on-year rise in Greek real estate prices [tables]

"The "finish" in the real estate price race around the world is being put down to interest rate hikes by central banks. Factors in the real estate market as well as financial institutions have noted a significant drop in real estate purchases recently.

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The main factor for "freezing" the uptrend in the real estate market is the rising cost of money, as the ECB continues its policy of constantly raising interest rates. Recall that the next Fed meeting is scheduled for July 25-26, with the vast majority of analysts predicting a 25 basis point increase in interest rates. Recall that at a congressional hearing the week after''s June 13-14 meeting, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank has "a long way to go" to bring inflation back to its 2 percent target.

Real estate data

Knight Frank's first quarter data shows that home prices in 56 markets tracked by the international real estateagency rose 3.6% over the past 12 months, compared to a similar 5.7% increase in the previous quarter. The market slowdown is notable when you consider that home prices rose 11.1% in the first quarter of 2022. Of the 56 markets, 17 have shown price declines over the past year, of which 8 have declines of more than 5%. Compared to the previous quarter, there is a decline in home prices in 23 markets. According to Knight Frank, prices in the Turkish real estate market have increased''by 132.8% over the past 12 months.

The real estate

Based on data from the ERC, in the first months of 2023, the Greek real estate market, especially the segment with high technical''characteristics, continued to evolve. As stated in the ERC report, "despite the uncertainties from the beginning of 2022 due to the war in Ukraine, rising interest rates and energy and material costs, the high rate of price growth was maintained as a result of intense demand and limited supply of premises with modern specifications. In addition, inflationary pressures registered in 2022 and continuing into the first months of 2023, as well as a new slowdown in the pace of construction activity, which has been subject to successive crises for a decade or more, have contributed to further price increases and investors continue to bid on limited supply. The limited supply of modern real estate''is gradually spreading price appreciation to lower specification properties'.

The housing market continues its upward price trend during the first quarter of 2023. Specifically, according to the apartment price indices published by the Bank of Greece, based on data and estimates collected from credit institutions, nominal apartment prices in the first quarter of 2023 increased by 14.5% compared to the same period in 2022 (preliminary data) and for the whole of 2022, based on revised data, apartment prices increased at an annual average rate of 11.7%.