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Greece's economic recovery is increasingly being tested by a sharp rise in housing rents, particularly in Athens, where rents have climbed by more than 50% since 2019. While growth has outpaced the European Union average and tourism has hit record levels, wages have failed to keep pace with housing costs. A long-standing construction freeze, foreign property purchases under the golden visa scheme, and a surge in short-term tourist rentals have tightened supply. As affordability worsens, households are cutting spending and taking on more debt, raising concerns about the sustainability of the rebound.
For many Athenians, the return to economic stability has not translated into secure or affordable housing. A young criminologist recently had to leave a rented apartment in central Athens after being informed by representatives of the property's Chinese owners that the rent would be raised. The monthly rent of EUR 700 was already close to her entire income, leaving her with little choice but to move in with family to manage daily expenses. Advertisement
Greece has made strong progress since emerging from its 2009-2018 debt crisis. Economic growth has exceeded the EU average, bailout loans are being repaid ahead of schedule, and tourism arrivals have reached historic highs. However, the benefits of this recovery are uneven. Rapidly rising rents, combined with modest income growth, are forcing many households to cut back on essentials such as heating, leisure activities, and dining, while also increasing reliance on debt.
Data from the Small Enterprise Institute (IME) shows that income pressure is widespread. The institute reported that six out of ten households now struggle to make their income last until the end of the month, noting that financial stress has spread beyond lower-income groups and into the middle class.
The roots of the housing shortage lie partly in the crisis years, when construction activity came to a halt. A Piraeus Bank report released in the past year estimated a shortfall of around 180,000 homes available for rent or sale in major Greek cities. This imbalance has been worsened by policies and market trends that reduced long-term housing supply.
Greece's golden visa programme, introduced in 2014, has encouraged foreign property purchases. Since the mid-2010s, around 20,000 homes, mostly in Athens, have been sold to foreign buyers, according to Migration Ministry data. In parallel, roughly 150,000 properties have been shifted to short-term tourist rentals, further tightening the rental market.
Industry participants say demand has reached extreme levels. According to the head of the E-Real Estate Network, it is now common for hundreds of prospective tenants to attend a single property viewing, reflecting the severity of the shortage.
Home ownership is also becoming less attainable. The share of Greeks owning their homes fell below 70% in 2024, the lowest level on record, down from about 77% in 2009. At the same time, rent inflation in Greece has far outpaced that of other European cities. Between 2019 and 2024, average rents in Athens rose by more than 50%, compared with increases of 26% in Madrid and 14% in Paris.
Although average wages in Greece increased by about 27% over the same period, Eurostat data shows that Greeks now spend a higher proportion of their income on housing than any other EU population. Government rent subsidies for low-income households have provided limited relief, according to tenants.
A recent IME survey found that more than 83% of Greeks are unable to save, while about 40% reduced spending on restaurants and entertainment in the past year. Academics have warned that housing pressures are likely to intensify further if supply constraints persist.
The impact is visible at a neighbourhood level. A kindergarten teacher in her early fifties was asked to vacate her central Athens apartment after it was bought by foreign owners, who gave her a month to move out. Unable to find a comparable home in the area, where rents had climbed to around EUR 2,000 from EUR 1,300 earlier, she relocated to the suburbs, where her family now pays EUR 1,500 per month.
Source Reuters
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