House prices jump 11 pct in Q2

Attica property prices soared 11.1 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2019, Bank of Greece data showed on Monday, as buying interest by foreigners has brought about the fastest growth rate since the mid-2000s.

The pace of the increase around the country grew to 7.7 percent in April-June from 4.9 percent in the year's first quarter, with Thessaloniki seeing residential property prices advance 7 percent and Greece's other major cities reporting 4.1 percent growth. Last year prices had posted a 1.7 percent annual expansion, with a clear acceleration in the latter half of 2018.

The age of properties appeared to play a very small role in the price increase, as newly built homes (up to five years old) enjoyed 7.7 percent growth while older residences saw a rise of 7.6 percent.

This increase is almost exclusively attributed to demand from abroad as a result...