Eurozone crisis

The Greek economy saw an inflow of 5 billion euros for Greek shares and bonds as a result of the credit rating outlook upgrade of the Greek economy, a report in the Bank of Greece Economic Bulletin said on Wednesday.

Eurozone GDP remained in positive territory in the second quarter, but the expansion was limited.

Specifically, according to preliminary data released by Eurostat, eurozone and EU GDP grew by 0.3% every quarter, as well as in the first quarter of the year, keeping expectations low, as it appears it won’t take much to bring the economy back into recession.

The recovery of the Greek economy and the return to primary surpluses after the Covid-19 pandemic have been the two key factors driving the steady and significant reduction of public debt as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP). 

Thanks to this progress, Greece regained its investment grade status in 2023 and continues to enjoy upgrades from credit rating agencies. 

Developers are waiting to see and analyze the direction loan rates will take in 2025 before launching new projects in the housing market, which has experienced a plunge in sales for months.

Currently, both consumer and construction companies are in the wait-and-see mode in an environment of high inflation and high interest rates.

House sale prices in Greece posted the third largest increase in the European Union in the first quarter of this year, Eurostat data showed on Thursday.

The increase reached 10.4%, behind only Poland and Bulgaria, where prices recorded an annual increase of 18% and 16% respectively.

According to Eurostat, Bulgaria experienced the highest growth in housing prices among EU countries, with a 7.1% increase compared to the last quarter of 2023. This marks the most significant rise in housing prices in Bulgaria since the last quarter of 2007.

The annual increase in the Residential Property Price Index (RPPI) further slowed in April, rising 48.4 percent last compared with 51.9 percent in March, data from the Central Bank have shown.

The year-on-year increase in the index reached as high as 189 percent in September 2022 but started to come down steadily in the following months.

Greece's primary budget surplus stood at 1.6 billion euros in the five-month period January-May compared to €2.9 billion in the same period last year.

According to the Bank of Greece, the central government cash balance recorded a deficit of €537 million compared to a deficit of €1.92 billion in the corresponding period of 2023.

The Greek government and the European institutions responsible for banking supervision and financial stability, such as the Single Supervisory Mechanism and the European Stability Mechanism, co-shape the provisions for the reforms promoted by the Ministry of National Economy and Finance in the Superfund, the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF) and the state asset utilization fund (TAIPED).

Greece's primary surplus stood at 1.6 billion euros in the five-month period of January-May compared to €2.9 billion in the corresponding period last year, the Bank of Greece reported on Tuesday.

According to the country's central bank, the central government cash balance recorded a deficit of €537 million compared to a deficit of €1.920 billion in the corresponding period of 2023.