On the issue of objections, REOCOs are requesting that a provision be made that the court decision be issued no later than one year from the date of its filing and that the Justice Ministry accelerates the creation of a platform for expediting decisions on objections.
The real estate settlement process is progressing at an intensive pace on the part of banks and the companies that manage real estate on behalf of funds, with the aim of bringing approximately 5,000 residential properties back to the market by 2026.
Although the number is far from the housing deficit in the market and which, according to a study by Piraeus Bank, is estimated at 180,000, banks and companies are accelerating the effort to dispose of as many properties as they can in view of the measure that from the beginning of 2026 imposes a doubling of ENFIA tax for properties they own which remain closed.
In total, the number of residences that banks have in their portfolios amounts to approximately 8,300, while another 7,000 residential properties belong to funds through the real estate owned companies (REOCOs) that they have established. These are properties that have come into their ownership through auctions and are meant to be put up for sale, but not before the settlement of their pending urban planning issues.
Speaking at the recent Prodexpo conference, the CEO of servicer doValue Greece, Tasos Panousis, identified the problem of delays in the faster release of the properties owned by REOCOs to the market in the high percentage of objections filed against the auctions (which has led to the postponement of their hearings until 2033, so that these properties cannot be put on the market), and in the time required for the maturation of these properties, that is, the correction of the technical and legal irregularities of the property, which even exceeds 18 months.
On the issue of objections, the companies are requesting that a provision be made that the court decision be issued no later than one year from the date of its filing and that the Justice Ministry accelerates the creation of a platform for expediting decisions on objections.
The main request is the obligation for the technical maturity of properties to be undertaken by the new owner – i.e. the buyer of the property, not the seller – and that the procedures at the Cadastre and urban planning be accelerated.