Dozens of public auctions are proving fruitless due to a new regulation agreed upon by the Justice Ministry and the troika of international creditors from the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund. According to the measures, auctions held to raise money for debt repayments are cancelled if the new property price is less than 2/3 the real estate’s objective value. A second follow-up auction will be held following where the auction is cancelled if the amount raised is less than 50% the objective property value, followed by a third auction where there is no floor rate with the final result of the auction being at any fraction of the price of the initial investment.

The new rules have resulted in many prospective buyers at public auctions holding out for 2015 when auction prices are expected to fall to beneath 50% following the initial auctions.

The General Secretariat of Public Revenue featured 37 properties on www.publicrevenue.gr to be auctioned off by December 10, 2014.