Buyers biding their time

Vultures - of the avian kind - are opportunistic predators. They can sniff out potential prey from more than a mile away, and will hone in and circle it until satisfied that the time is right to strike.

Bargain-hunters circling the Greek property market are finding plenty of fodder. With the troubled Mediterranean nation now into its fifth year of recession, prices remain on a downward spiral, losing a further 10.1 per cent in the second quarter of this year across apartments and houses nationwide, according to the Bank of Greece. But with no sign of an upturn, buyers seem content to bide their time. Transactions are down by half this year, according to the bank's data.

Andrew Langton, chairman of London-based realty group Aylesford International, believes bargain-hunters can sense further falls. "I suspect the vultures circling the Greek property bargains are waiting to hear whether there is any chance of the return to the drachma before they commit to investing on any scale in Greece. Much depends on whether the Greeks default on their interest payments and how they survive what could be a very bleak winter," he says.

Sales tracked by the Global Property Guide show prices in Greece have been on the slide since 2007-2008, when the market "came to a grinding halt" due to the global credit crunch. The shock was felt more deeply because it came on the back of double-digit growth, with annual price increases averaging 13 per cent in 2005 and 2006 - and up to 40 per cent in seaside resorts such as Crete - before the brakes were applied.

Anecdotally, some agents are reporting renewed buyer interest as the year progresses, but not everyone agrees.

Roi Deldimou, branch manager at Beauchamp Estates Mykonos, says bad economic news plaguing Greece has brought overseas bargain-hunters out of the woodwork.