The pioneer in the project is the Greek-Serbian Chamber of Northern Greece, which identified the gap that existed in valid information, but also the interest of citizens and businessmen in the real estate market of SE Europe. In the effort of the Hellenic-Serbian Chamber, it is accompanied by the TEE/Department of Central Macedonia, the Association of Realtors of Athens – Attica, the Association of Real Estate Owners of Thessaloniki and the e-learning of EKPA, while corresponding bodies, institutions and universities from: Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Romania, etc.
The aim of the Observatory is to identify investment opportunities and to inform, at regular intervals, with press releases, conferences and seminars on the course of the real estate market of each country. At the beginning of autumn of the current year, the first official event of the Observatory is planned in Serbia, specifically in Belgrade.
“Through discussions it often emerged that there is a distorted picture for the real estate market of our country. For example, Serbian interested parties had the impression that real estate prices in Thessaloniki are exorbitant and that it is possible to buy an apartment on the beach for 500 euros per square meter,” said the president of the Greek-Serbian Chamber of Northern Greece, Kostas Georgakos, underlining that there were also cases where investors lost their down payments because of bad information.
“The lack of a reliable property price index is timeless. In this area, the Observatory comes to help and also to highlight price distortions in order to correct them” said the president of the TEE/Central Macedonia Department, Paris Billias, underlining that there is a large stock of aging properties. “85% are old buildings, built with the old anti-seismic regulation” Mr. Billias emphasized, underlining that there is no picture of the number of properties that are unoccupied.
Thessaloniki comes closer to the Balkan countries
“The Observatory of Real Estate Prices and Appraisals of Southeast Europe will “advertise” Greece. Thessaloniki is getting closer and closer to the Balkan countries. It is indicative that after the completion of major road networks, the distance between Belgrade and Thessaloniki is approximately 5.5 hours, while for Sofia, after the completion of a small section that is in progress, the distance will be approximately 2.5 hours,” Mr. Georgakos.
It is noted that on the website of the Greek-Serbian Chamber (www.greekserbian.com) there will be a special section with the news and actions of the Observatory as well as information on the every country.
Reheating the real estate market
The president of the Association of Realtors of Athens – Attica, Lefteris Potamianos, spoke about rewarming the real estate market after a 10-year recession, stressing that it is hoped that the newly created Price Observatory will record the real situation that prevails in the real estate market.
“Anyone who speaks Greek produces statistics on the real estate market, but the real picture of the real estate market is not always captured,” noted Mr. Potamianos .
“We are experiencing a rewarming of the real estate market” said the president of Thessaloniki Property Owners, Konstantinos Chaidoutis stressing that “property owners, after a period of stagnation, which was a result of the prolonged economic crisis, they proceeded with extensive renovations and upgrades. Properties are now available on the market, which have been improved in order to make them attractive to prospective buyers and tenants”. property owners will also be an incentive for those who wish to acquire a property.
The most affordable real estate market is in Thessaloniki and in the countries of SE Europe
“Greece has the highest taxation and the lowest prices both in urban properties, as well as commercial properties both for purchase and for lease, compared to other Balkan countries” said Mr. Georgakos, underlining that “in Thessaloniki the selling price for apartments ranges from 500 to 2,000 euros per sqm, while for lease from 4 to 6 euros. For office spaces, the selling price ranges from 500 to 1,700 euros per sqm, while for rent from 3-5 euros per sqm”.
At the same time in Belgrade for buying a house in the center, but also in New Belgrade, the interested buyer will pay from 1,500 to 2,500 per sq.m., while for rent from 4-7 euros per sq.m. For office spaces in the center of Belgrade, the rental prices are from 5-12 euros per sqm and in New Belgrade from 15-20 euros.
In Montenegro, the sales prices of apartments range from 900 to 2,500 euros per sqm, while for offices from 1,200 to 3,000 euros.
In Bulgaria, apartments are sold from 900 to 2,000 euros per sqm, while for rent from 5-8 euros. For office spaces, sales prices start from 1,500 euros and reach up to 2,500 per sq m, while for rent from 7-15 euros.
