Prices of homes continued to slide in Q3

Greece and Italy are the only housing markets in the European Union to show a continued decline in prices in the third quarter of last year, according to figures issued on Thursday by Eurostat.

Across the bloc residential property prices recorded an average annual increase of 4.6 percent. The eurozone saw a 4.1 percent rise, while in Italy prices dropped 0.9 percent (from 0.2 percent in the second quarter) and in Greece the decline came to 0.6 percent from 1.2 percent in Q2.

A survey by property research company Global Property Guide produced a similar snapshot: It showed that Greece's ranked 41st of 46 markets in the world, with the country being one of just eight where prices have continued to drop. The drop amounted to 0.7 percent.

All signs point to the annual decrease posted in the third quarter of 2017 being the last in a nine-year slide of residential...