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The owners of commercial sites in Athens report a sharp drop in the prices of rents. A survey conducted by the brokerage company Athens Economics LTD shows that the rents of shops along the most popular shopping street in Athens, Ermou, have fallen by 40% from 2008 to today. The overall decline in rental prices has reached 70%.

Five years ago, the highest rents on Ermou Street amounted to 220 euro/square metre whereas the rents of the same sites today amount to 130 euro/square metre. The rents of the lower category of shops have fallen from 130 euro to 40 euro per square metre.

Athens Economics LTD states that in the majority of the cases the retail shops are not paying a rent but are giving the owner a percentage of their turnover, in the range of between 5% and 7%.

The reduction of employment in the commercial sector is another reason for the decline in rents. Currently the sector employs 12% of workers whereas this percentage was 16% in the years before the crisis.

At the same time, the number of bakeries and fast food restaurants on all shopping streets in Athens has increased in recent years whereas shops such as those selling appliances have reduced the volume of goods kept in stock. Another change is that, generally, retail activity in the centre of Athens has shifted from the areas around Syntagma Square and Monastiraki Square, and from the neighbourhood of Kolonaki. It is significant that 15% cent of the shops on Patriarchou Joachim Street in Kolonaki and 42% of those on Stadiou Street are empty.

Athens Economics LTD reports a decline in the prices of shops in major shopping centres but, according to the brokers, this process is much slower than the process relating to the rents of sites on the big shopping streets. The rents in the most popular shopping centres are in the range of 40 euro and 60 euro per square metre. Currently the total commercial area in Greece is 954,000 square metres which includes the largest shopping centres and entertainment venues.