ATHENS — Nominal apartment prices rose 3.2 pct on average in the first quarter of 2021 compared with the same period last year, according to data collected from credit institutions, the Bank of Greece said on Tuesday. The central bank, in a quarterly report, said that the average annual rate of increase was 4.3 pct in 2020, against an increase of 7.2 pct in 2019.

More specifically, in the first quarter of 2021, the year-on-year rate of increase in prices was 2.9 pct for new apartments (up to 5 years old) and 3.4 pct for old apartments (over 5 years old). For 2020, according to revised data, prices of new apartments increased on average by 4.7 pct, against an increase of 7.7 pct in 2019, whereas prices of old apartments increased by 4.0 pct in 2020, against an increase of 6.9 pct in 2019.

According to regional data, in the first quarter of 2021, apartment prices are estimated to have increased by 5.4 pct year-on-year in Athens, 3.7 pct in Thessaloniki, 1.1 pct in other cities and 0.5 pct in other areas of Greece. For 2020, based on revised data, apartment prices increased on average by 7.6 pct, 4.8 pct, 0.1 pct and 1.6 pct, respectively, in the above-mentioned areas. Finally, as regards all urban areas of the country, in the first quarter of 2021, apartment prices increased by 3.3 pct year-on-year, whereas for the whole of 2020 the average annual increase was 4.6 pct, against a rise of 7.4 pct in 2019.