Greek property transactions spiked in the second half of 2018.
The Independent Authority for Public Revenue data showing a 50.5 per cent annual growth rate in property transaction levy takings in July 2018.
A two-month freeze in August and September, was followed by revenue takings at 70.64 per cent in October and 62.5 per cent in November.
The yield brought 308 million euros to state coffers as a result of the Greek property transaction levy (32.2 per cent increase from the same period in 2017).
The increase was due to motivated sellers interested in putting their homes on the market following an expected increase in objective values from 1 January, 2019. Owners rushed to get rid of property or pass on assets to their children as a way of paying lower taxes. It is also linked to growth in the short-term rental sector.
Real estate agents said that there were more than 25,000 property transactions in 2018 – a figure that had not been seen since before the economic crisis.
The trend is set to continue in 2019 as there is talk of further revisions to objective value as a result of the government promising creditors that it would lessen the gap between taxable rates and market prices and attain full alignment of these in 2020.