Athens among leaders in q2 decline of house prices

Greek home prices recorded the third-steepest fall among 39 countries in the second quarter of the year, a study shows.

According to a report in the Global Property Guide -- which focused on the 39 countries which had released data for the period at the time -- average house prices in Athens were 9.9 percent lower in Q2 compared to a year earlier, behind those of Ireland (-14.84 percent) and Bulgaria (-10.65 percent).

The basic conclusion of the report is that global property prices came under increasing pressure in the second quarter of 2011, mainly in Europe and the US. Of the 39 countries, only in 13 did prices post a rise, while of the remaining 26, the pace of easing accelerated in 18. In Spain the decline was 8.43 percent and in Croatia 6.55 percent.

According to Bank of Greece data for the second quarter, apartment prices were on average 4.5 percent lower than a year earlier. This was on top of consecutive declines of 4.7 percent in 2010 and 3.7 percent in 2009.

Source: Ekathimerini.com