"I've had enough of these traffic jams," says Vassiliki Karvela as she finally reaches the local weekly market in her town of 90,000 inhabitants. "It was perfect and much calmer 20 years ago."Some 15 kilometres (nine miles) south of the capital, Glyfada has seen its population grow and property prices rise in recent years, along with other parts of the urban sprawl along the Saronic Gulf.And that is likely to continue. Nearby, a new town of 6.2 square kilometres is under construction, "three times the size of Monaco", according to the site's owners, Lamda Development.Situated on the outskirts of neighbouring Ellinikon, it promises to hold hotels, shopping centres, parks, marinas and 8,000 homes.A luxury skyscraper some 200 metres high -– the tallest building ever constructed in Athens –- has already been built and is visible from the city centre.Along the edge of the site, huge advertising hoardings promote the "shopping, entertainment and business destination of the future"."This development is good for the economy," says Yorgos Christophoridis, owner of a construction company in Glyfada. "But Greeks, because of their low wages, can no longer rent or buy property here".Foreign buyers
Surging real estate development divides opinion on Athens' riviera
In the southern Athens seaside suburb of Glyfada, a pensioner struggles to cross an avenue with her shopping trolley, zigzagging between cars stuck in traffic.









