Athens’ Ermou Street continues to uphold its reputation as the premier retail hub in Greece, with rental prices maintaining elevated levels. Even in the first half of 2024, commercial lease prices experienced further increases, according to data from the Bank of Greece (BoG).
Nationwide Rental Trends
In detail, during the first half of 2024, nominal rents for high-end retail spaces across Greece rose by 4.8% compared to the second half of 2023. The increase was more pronounced in Athens, where rents surged by 6.4%, while Thessaloniki saw a rise of 3.9%, and the rest of Greece recorded a 2.1% uptick over the same period.
Revised data shows that in 2023, the average annual growth rate of nominal rents for premium retail spaces was 7.0% nationwide. In Athens, the increase was even steeper at 8.6%, followed by 7.2% in Thessaloniki and 4.0% in other regions.
In the first half of 2024, commercial rents across the country increased by 4.8% compared to the previous six months. Revised figures also indicate that rents rose by 4.4% in the first half of 2023 and by 1.3% in the second half of the same year, culminating in an average annual increase of 5.9% for the entirety of 2023.
Prime Retail Streets and Rents
According to research conducted by the commercial real estate agency, Cushman & Wakefield Proprius, monthly rents for prime retail spaces on Ermou Street reached 290euros per square meter in the third quarter of 2024. This figure is consistent with the same period last year, cementing Ermou’s status as the most expensive retail street in Athens, Greece, and one of the most costly globally.
The prime yield remained stable at 5.25%, matching the Q3 2023 figure. The study also highlighted a retail pipeline in Athens, with new shopping center developments covering 110,000 square meters.
During the same period rental prices in Kolonaki averaged 110 euros per square meter on a monthly basis in Q3 2024, with a prime yield of 6.2%, while in Glyfada monthly average rents stood at 150 euros per square meter, with a prime yield of 6%.
In Greece’s major port Piraeus, rents rose to 100 euros per square meter monthly, with a steady prime yield of 6%.
Elsewhere in Greece, monthly rents reached 150 euros per square meter, in Thessaloniki with a stable prime yield of 6%, and in Patras they averaged 88 euros per square meter per month.
