House buyer's profile in Greece: cash buyers aged 30-55, 28 pct foreigners

House buyers in Greece today are mostly people with families, aged 30 to 55, and the vast majority pay in cash, according to the findings of a survey on the "Profile of today's house buyers" presented on Thursday by the Union of Real

Estate Agents and Certified Surveyors of Greece. A sizeable minority, or 28 pct, are foreign nationals.

The survey was unveiled at a press conference held to present the first cooperative for 'Coordinated Management of Remote and Sparsely Distributed Properties' by businesses operating throughout Greece, with the coordination and support of the Hellenic Confederation of Professionals, Merchants and Craftsment (GSEVEE).

Based on real transactions carried out in the first five months of 2014 in 11 regions of Greece, the survey found that 84 pct of transactions carried out since the start of the year were settled in cash, without a bank loan. Two thirds of house buyers were married and were aged 30 to 55, while one quarter were above the age of 55. Most were prepared to spend up to 110,000 euros to buy an older apartment. Nearly two thirds, or 59 pct, were graduates and 28 pct were foreign nationals, of which half were EU nationals.

The survey also showed a rising trend in holiday home purchases (17 pct of the total). In the Southern Aegean region, for example, all the buyers were European nationals.

Three quarters (77 pct) of homes bought were older apartments and 23 pct were up to seven years old.

Based on real purchase prices, the survey found that the older apartments had lost roughly 38 pct of their value since 2009 when the economic crisis began. The price for the average newly built property bought in 2014 was around 130,000 euros, down from 200,000 euros (34 pct less) than in 2009.

source: ΑΜΝΑ