United States housing bubble

“We are putting a shield of protection around borrowers against abusive practices,” says Skrekas – See in detail the fines imposed on the three major servicers

The Bank of Greece is establishing a ceiling on the issue of new mortgages to prevent excessive lending.

Governor Yannis Stournaras has decided to set a maximum loan limit in relation to the value of the property and a maximum limit for servicing the debts from housing loans in relation to the total income of the borrower.

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes sank in 2023 to a nearly 30-year low, as sharply higher mortgage rates, rising prices and a persistently low level of homes on the market combined to push homeownership out of reach for many Americans.

According to data from the union of loan and credit management companies (servicers), out of the total of 86 billion euros, the arrangements that have been made to date concern €25.5 billion and of these the arrangements that are being adhered to do not exceed €19 billion.

As the year comes to a close, it seems likely that the freeze on foreclosures on primary homes in Cyprus valued at up to 350,000 euros will be extended.

A significant mobilization by the Cypriot government and the Central Bank of Cyprus this week regarding the framework of foreclosures bore fruit. It primarily aimed to withdraw the "problematic" proposal that, according to the state and banks, would have negative consequences for the Cypriot economy.

Cyprus is heading toward suspending first-residence property foreclosures up to 350,000 euros by end-October.

This intermediate solution is seen as a compromise, allowing either the government, the Central Bank of Cyprus, or both to come up with proposals that will effectively address the issue of nonperforming loans.

The groundwork for the establishment of a specialized jurisdiction court in Cyprus, which will exclusively handle issues related to primary residence foreclosures, will be laid on Thursday.

Nearly 370,000 homes have been sold in the January-April period of 2023, according to the latest data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK).

Compared with the same period of last year, home sales pointed to an 18.6 percent decline.

The housing market has recently evolved into one of the most profitable investments, with a return of up to 126% during the last five years (2017-2022).

Those brave enough to acquire an apartment in Attica during 2017 - i.e. when the real estate market began its recovery - are today the big winners, as they have seen the value of their investment more than double.