According to data collected from credit institutions,(1) nominal apartment prices are estimated to have increased on average by 7.5% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2019, whilst in 2019 the average annual increase in apartment prices was 7.2%, compared with an average increase of 1.8% in 2018.

Indices of apartment prices by age and geographical area

More specifically, in the fourth quarter of 2019, the year-on-year rate of increase in prices was 8.9% for 'new' apartments (up to 5 years old) and 6.6% for 'old' apartments (over 5 years old). For 2019 as a whole, prices of 'new' apartments increased on average by 7.7%, compared with an increase of 2.0% in 2018, whereas prices of 'old' apartments increased by 6.9% in 2019, compared with an increase of 1.7% in 2018.

According to regional data, in the fourth quarter of 2019 apartment prices are estimated to have increased year-on-year by 11.0% in Athens, 5.5% in Thessaloniki, 4.2% in other cities and 4.9% in other areas of Greece. For 2019, apartment prices increased on average by 10.4%, 6.8%, 4.1% and 4.6%, respectively, in the above-mentioned areas. Finally, as regards all urban areas of the country, in the fourth quarter of 2019 apartment prices increased by 7.9% year-on-year, whereas for 2019 as a whole the average increase was 7.5%.

Detailed tables on house prices by geographical area and with a distinction between 'new' and 'old' apartments are published in the 'Bulletin of Conjunctural Indicators' (Tables ??.7, ??.7.1, ??.7.2 and ??.8) and are also available on the Bank of Greece website under 'Real Estate Market' section.

INDICES OF APARTMENT PRICES (1) (2)

2018

2019*

2018

2019 *

Q4

Q1*

Q2*

Q3*

Q4*

?. OVERALL

Price index (2007=100)

60.1

64.4

61.0

62.5

64.4

65.2

65.6

(%) change over previous year

1.8

7.2

3.2

5.4

7.7

8.3

7.5

II. BY AGE

1.	New (up to 5 years old)

Price index (2007=100)

61.9

66.7

62.9

64.5

66.3

67.4

68.6

(%) change over previous year

2.0

7.7

3.4

5.3

7.8

8.7

8.9

2.	Old (over 5 years old)

Price index (2007=100)

58.9

63.0

59.7

61.3

63.1

63.9

63.7

(%) change over previous year

1.7

6.9

3.1

5.5

7.6

8.1

6.6

???. BY GEOGRAPHICAL AREA

1. Athens

Price index (2007=100)

57.8

63.8

59.1

61.0

63.8

64.8

65.6

(%) change over previous year

2.8

10.4

5.1

7.8

11.2

11.3

11.0

2.	Thessaloniki

Price index (2007=100)

55.1

58.8

56.1

58.2

59.1

58.9

59.2

(%) change over previous year

1.1

6.8

2.5

6.5

7.8

7.4

5.5

3. Other cities

Price index (2007=100)

62.2

64.7

62.6

63.5

64.6

65.6

65.2

(%) change over previous year

0.9

4.1

1.4

2.5

4.1

5.8

4.2

4.	Other areas of Greece

Price index (2007=100)

64.8

67.8

65.4

66.6

67.6

68.4

68.6

(%) change over previous year

1.1

4.6

1.8

3.3

4.5

5.5

4.9

5.	Urban areas (total)

Price index (1997=100)

152.3

163.7

154.8

158.5

163.5

166.0

167.0

(%) change over previous year

1.8

7.5

3.5

5.7

7.8

8.5

7.9

Provisional data.

Source: Bank of Greece.

(1)	Bank of Greece indices of residential property prices are based on detailed data reported to the Real Estate Market Analysis Section as from 2009, under Bank of Greece Governor's Act 2610/31.10.2008 by all credit institutions operating in Greece. These data include banks' appraisals of the current market value and qualitative characteristics of residential property. A total of 768.2 thousand appraisals were reported to the Bank of Greece by end-January 2020 (65.4% concerning apartments, 18.9% houses, 6.1% maisonettes, 6.2% building plots and 3.4% other types of property).
(2)	Any differences between levels and percentage changes in the table are due to rounding.

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