Auction theory

'View of Constantinople in Moonlight' by famous Russian painter Ivan Aivazovsky will be auctioned with an opening price of 450,000 Turkish Liras. The auction will be organized by Beyaz Müzayede on May 6 at the Swissotel and will offer 234 artifacts collected from an important collection.

Bidding opens on Monday for licenses commercial activities like refreshment stands and umbrella rentals at dozens of Greece's beaches.

The Finance Ministry hopes for a bigger turnout compared to last year, when the scheme was first launched and pertained to licenses for 61 beaches. According to data, closing prices last year were 50.3 percent higher than starting prices.

The Privatization Administration of Turkey has conducted separate auctions to corporatize two sugar factories, amid controversy over the move. 

April 27 will see the first online auction of a property over debts to the tax authorities, following the successful implementation of electronic foreclosures to recover debts to banks and individuals.

The Turkish Customs Ministry has begun handing over smuggled animals they have seized so far to Turkey's Animal Rights Federation (HAYTAP) before they are put up for auctions. 

Police officers staged a demonstration outside Thessaloniki Police Headquarters on Thursday to protest their working conditions following violent clashes outside a notary office on Wednesday instigated by people opposing auctions of foreclosed properties.

Scuffles break out outside a notary office in central Athens on Wednesday. Police said that eight members of the "Won't Pay" movement were detained as they attempted to disrupt electronic auctions of foreclosed properties at a notary office on Kapodistriou Street in the city center. All property auctions are gradually being transferred to the online platform.

All property auctions are gradually being transferred to the online platform. Already 1,341 auctions - mainly by banks, and a few by individuals - have been transferred to the electronic system.

The curtain on physical auctions at courts will officially fall on February 28, after which all foreclosed assets will have to be auctioned online.

The Independent Authority for Public Revenue confirmed on Friday in a circular that property auctions for debts to the state will officially start on May 1.

The authority has decided that starting prices will be based on the commercial value of the asset to be auctioned, and that they will be determined by independent surveyors.

Banks intend to buy back four out of every five properties that go under the hammer this year, in an effort to prevent a collapse of prices on the real estate market, sector sources have told Kathimerini.