Specifically, during the twelve months of April 2022 - March 2023, the volume of transactions throughout the country fell by 12.45% on an annual basis. Larger or smaller falls were recorded in the vast majority of the regions of the Greek territory, while there were only a few regions that recorded an increase.
In the Municipality of Athens the registered transfers were lower by 7.56% recording a better performance than the whole country, while in the Municipality of Thessaloniki a decrease of 18.16% was observed. The prefectures of tourist interest were among the few regions of the country that registered an increase. 15.69% the prefecture of Chania, 9.9% the Dodecanese, 1.85% Halkidiki, while the touristic islands of the Cyclades, Mykonos, Santorini, Paros and Tinos, recorded an increase of 4.9%.
With reference to Attica, in the entire prefecture the number of transfers fell by 13.20%, with the largest drop recorded in the regions of Eastern Attica -17.88%, the northern and western suburbs -16.55%, while in the southern suburbs, Piraeus and the other municipalities of Piraeus Prefecture, the decline was more moderate -10.17%, -9.71% and -11.7% respectively. There were also a few regions of Attica with a positive sign such as Vrilissia, Chalandri, Papagou, Haidari, Korydallos, Ilioupoli, Glyfada and Vouliagmeni.
Looking at the evolution of transfers across the country over time, the upward trends recorded by the Register of Securities Transfers peaked at the end of 2019, but then reversed in 2020 due to the pandemic. In 2021 they recovered and despite the geopolitical turmoil and the unfavorable economic situation we had a peak of transfers in 2022, with a significant share of participation by foreign investors. Today, the areas of the country that show strength or even an increase in the number of transfers are the areas of tourist and investment interest such as Athens, Glyfada, Vouliagmeni and the tourist islands, while the areas that concern mainly Greek buyers generally show a decrease with minimal exceptions.
As mentioned in the study, the data obtained from the Registry of Transfers of Values of the General Secretariat of Information Systems refers to transfers, including intra-family transfers and not only transactions between third parties. Intra-family transfers taking place in 2022 were more than usual due to an increase in the tax-free limit from €150,000 to €800,000 in parental benefits. This means that for this period, transactions between third parties were even less. It is a fact that the Registry as a source has limitations. But there are no other figures available that more accurately approximate the volumes of "real" transactions.
The analysis of the volume of transactions is very important because it expresses with the shortest time lag the trends of the real estate market. Next are the changes in transaction prices and lastly the asking prices, on which real estate indices are mainly based, are raised.
