Are There No Apartments for Sale or Are They Being Hoarded for Gold?

Lately, there has been much talk about the government’s efforts to strengthen programs like ‘My Home 2’ to help new families acquire their own homes. However, there simply aren’t enough properties meeting the criteria. Ultimately, it seems that something isn’t adding up, and reasons are being sought. The common explanation is either the available properties don’t meet program requirements (they’re too old, have bureaucratic hurdles), or owners prefer to keep them vacant until prices rise further. We’re not talking about properties built for high-income buyers but those left closed and often abandoned. What’s really going on? Last week, I met with an experienced real estate agent based in central Athens and two suburban municipalities west of Attica. During our discussion, without any incentive to sugarcoat the truth—since we’ve known each other for years—he explained that neither the ‘My Home 2’ program nor anything else can change the situation for one simple reason. In his estimation, the ‘market’ remains shackled by conditions created over the past 10-12 years due to notorious ‘red loans.’ The problem, as he described it, lies in the fact that while banks have written off these red loans from their balance sheets—many related to real estate purchases—the loans and property liens haven’t disappeared; they’ve merely changed hands. It’s no longer the banks but a few companies that now hold these loans and properties. In reality, these firms have amassed property liabilities purchased at 1/3 or even 1/4 of their actual value but have no intention of putting them back on the market at prices affordable for a society shaped post-austerity. He noted, ‘You could call it greed,’ adding, ‘but they have the golden goose waiting to lay its second egg… the first came from nearly dirt-cheap loan acquisitions.’ As long as nothing changes legally, they have no reason or incentive to alter their stance. He agreed that new constructions follow this pricing logic, making the situation suffocating. When asked when this upward price trend might stop under current conditions, his response was that unless something shifts regarding the companies holding these ‘red loan’ properties, the market ‘will continue to climb for some time…’ And then? What happens afterward? ‘We’ll see what tomorrow brings…’ was his reply.