E-Auctions
The E-auctions platform was set up in November 2017 aiming to facilitate the auction of properties and reinvigorate the real estate market by attracting investor bids. Since its inception, roughly forty thousand auctions took place with the majority of them being held in 2018. The busiest months in terms of auctions held for 2018 were October and December, reaching 3,176 and 3,672 auctions respectively.
During the first months of 2019, the pace of auctions held was slower than expected, given the significance of auctions and the targets set for the year. The table below offers a comparison of the volume of auctions between November 2017 and April 2019.
Eurobank
For the 2018 fiscal year, Eurobank reported that 3,195 properties were listed on auctions between March 2018 to year end, with 45% of them being successfully carried out, 17% suspended or cancelled and 38% were unsuccessful. It is worth mentioning that during the first two months of 2018, 84% of the scheduled auctions were either suspended or cancelled. Out of the 1,479 properties emerging from the auctions, the bank acquired 86% of them, with the remaining 14% purchased by third parties. Banks acquiring, or repossessing the properties seems to be a norm, and potentially a reason why investors refrain from auctions. Repossessed properties and relative payments in Eurobank’s financial statements have increased by 35% (September 2017 to September 2018). This increase of €132m is attributed to the initiation of the bank’s platform for e-auctions, launched in February 2018. The platform was created with the scope of «effectively processing properties» according to the Bank.
According to data coming from EFKA, Eurobank had 86 properties listed for auctions in April 2019.
Alpha Bank
Alpha bank carried out roughly 2,000 auctions with 4,195 properties being auctioned, within 9 months in 2018. From the auctioned properties, 64% were residential, 32% commercial and the remaining 4% were classified as other. The end result of the auctions was that the majority of those properties, namely 83%, were acquired by Alpha Bank. Third party acquisitions sum up to 17%. It is evident that third party acquisitions amongst auctions conducted by Alpha Bank and Eurobank lie at roughly the same levels.
It is also worth mentioning that the vast majority (84%) of the auctions scheduled during the first two months of 2018 were suspended. Alpha Bank created a new established unit during 2018, that will play a crucial role in facilitating the repossession and management of the existing portfolio. For the month of April 2019, Alpha Bank had 10 properties listed for auction.
National Bank of Greece (NBG)
The National Bank of Greece had 1,290 scheduled auctions for the fiscal year 2018, 68% of them were carried out while the remaining 32% were suspended. Assets auctioned totalled 2,264 properties. The National Bank of Greece has also its own platform to perform auctions electronically. EFKA has reported 118 auctions listed during the month of April 2019.
Piraeus Bank
Piraeus Bank carried out 3,269 auctions during 2018 and seeks to increase those by 12% in 2019. Out of the auctions scheduled in 2018, 35% of them were carried out successfully. Piraeus Bank has also developed its own platform for electronic auctions. 290 properties were auctioned by the bank within April 2019.
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