MacroPolis

The rise in the nominal value of apartments in Greece came to 6.9 percent year-on-year (YoY) in the first quarter (Q1) of 2020 from a revised increase of 7.6 percent in Q4 2019, Bank of Greece (BoG) data showed on Thursday.

The Bank of Greece (BoG) has made its first estimate of the impact of the coronavirus on the property market in Greece while outlining the positive year enjoyed by the sector in 2019.

The rise in the nominal value of apartments in Greece came to 7.5 percent year-on-year (YoY) in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2019 from a revised increase of 8.3 percent in Q3, Bank of Greece (BoG) data showed on Wednesday.

The government is hoping that the visit of EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni will provide an opportunity for Athens to argue its case for greater fiscal space in the coming months and years.

With the fraught issue of home repossessions threatening to come to a head in the spring, recent statements by Development Minister Adonis Georgiadis have been attracting furious responses from across the opposition.

Greek government officials are due to begin meetings with the institutions’ mission chiefs on Wednesday as part of the fifth enhanced surveillance review, which Athens hopes will pave the way for its three fiscal demands to be met later this year.

The sensitive issue of protecting primary residences from foreclosures, which over the last decade was dealt with by the so-called Katseli law that was introduced very early in the crisis and then extended by subsequent administrations, is starting to move up the agenda of key stakeholders.

The rise in the nominal value of apartments in Greece came to 9.1 percent year-on-year (YoY) in the third quarter (Q3) of 2019 from an increase of 7.7 percent in Q2, Bank of Greece (BoG) data showed on Thursday.

A bill bringing changes to the framework for the protection of primary residences was submitted to Parliament yesterday by the Finance Ministry, which is hoping to boost the number of applications.

The government is taking measures to reduce the VAT on all properties built from 2006 onwards in order to kick-start the country’s stagnant property market.