Property prices pick up pace

House prices last year rose at the highest rate recorded since 2006, according to Bank of Greece data released on Wednesday, in a clear indication of the recovery of both the market and the economy in general.

The figures showed an average growth rate of 7.2 percent year-on-year, against 1.8 percent in 2018. The last time major annual growth had been recorded was 13 years earlier, when prices in the country's biggest cities had risen 13 percent compared to 2005.
The decline started in 2009, and up to 2017 prices are estimated to have shrunk by 44 percent in Athens and 48 percent in Thessaloniki.

The last quarter of 2019 observed a slowdown in the growth seen last year, as after the second quarter's 8.3 percent annual price expansion and the third quarter's 7.7 percent, the rate eased to 7.5 percent in October-December. 

Newly built properties (up to five...