Greece has the most expensive housing in EU in relation to income

Apr. 2, 2023

Greece has the most expensive housing in Europe in relation to income, a research conducted by non-governmental organization diaNEOSis has shown.

The research records the “acute”, as it is characterized, housing problem in the country as well, through a historical review of the main causes that caused it. At the same time, the specific problem at the European level is highlighted in general and the policies in the field of housing policy in some countries are presented.

Housing cost in Greece has skyrocketed

In recent years, the relative cost of housing in Greece has skyrocketed, the survey states, noting that according to Eurostat, Greek households that do not own their own homes pay the highest percentage of their income for housing among EU countries, around 37%.

Around 1 in 3 households living in cities pay even more, more than 40% of their income on housing, also the highest in Europe.

At the same time, 3 out of 4 renters aged 18 to 44 say that the rent they pay causes them stress.

According to the research and its sources, the empirical records of the house search in Athens, usually written in a desperate tone, fill the same picture.

With reference to the course of prices, it is stated, among other things, that the increase in the apartment price index for 2021, compared to 2020, was 7.5%, while the increase in the apartment price index for 2022, compared to 2021, was 10%. at a time when there are 770,000 vacant homes throughout Greece.

The use of vacant buildings, where possible, the further regulation of short-term rental platforms as well as changes to the “golden visa” are among other things proposed by diaNEOsis research on dealing with the housing issue in Greece was prepared by Ilias Nicolaidis, senior editor of communication

How we got to have the most expensive relative to income housing in Europe

The research of diaNEOSIS estimates that one explanation is the large decrease in incomes.

From 2009 to 2014, Greeks lost more than 40% of their disposable income.

At the same time, tourists to the cities and islands were increasing.

Landlords have found new options for operating their properties, such as short-term rentals, which in turn have affected prices and rents.

But, before the above even happened, the research states, Greece was already a country without a great housing policy. In the storm of the [economic] crisis, everything that existed was dissolved: in 2012 OEK, the state body that ran the most massive housing programs in the country, was abolished without being replaced. At this point of the research, a special reference is made to the historical course of the OEK. Among other things, it is reported that in April 2013, OEK was formally absorbed by the then OAED (now DYPA). But in fact according to the survey, all new activity stopped. It stopped issuing new loans, subsidizing mortgage rates or giving rent subsidies. He also stopped planning new settlements and building houses.

From then until today, its operation concerns what was planned or left “open” before 2012: monitoring loans that had already been issued and completing the projects that had already started.

The survey points out that recently the debate on housing policy has been reopened. Everyone recognizes the problem and its wider consequences, e.g. in the country’s demographic profile. The government, reports the research, has adopted measures that remain to be implemented, while the opposition parties have also made proposals.

What can be done in Greece – Possible solutions

The housing problem is important not only for its primary consequences, but also because it is closely linked to inequalities and to the demographic problem.

The possible solutions according to the research are focused on 4 axes:
1. Restarting the housing policy.
2. Utilization of vacant buildings, where possible.
3.Further regulation of short-term rental platforms.
4. Changes to the “Golden Visa”.

More specifically, as it is found that there are solutions despite the fact that the crisis seems to be quite deep and will not be solved easily. An obvious direction is empty buildings. According to the previous census, in 2011, 35% of all housing in Greece, 2.2 million housing, were vacant – 600,000 of them in Attica. If one excludes holiday homes or second homes, there are 900,000 homes and 314,000 in Attica.

More recent figures, from AADE and made public by the government, advocate a similar order of magnitude: 770,000 vacant housing units

A better and more systematic inventory of these hundreds of thousands of houses can reveal more about their prospects for use: In what condition are they? Where exactly are they located? What demand is there for the areas they are in?

Another key point, according to the research, relates to imported demand and platforms like Airbnb. In 2019, Airbnb had exceeded 125,000 registered accommodations throughout Greece. Although the obligation to declare income from platforms has been in effect since 2017 and, in some cases, there is a limit of days that someone can sell their property on the platform, international experience shows that more can be done.

“Short-term leasing has entered the Greek reality very strongly,” says Thomas Maloutas. “It has reduced the supply of rental housing, and by reducing the supply, it is helping to increase rents. There is a large field of intervention, as international experience shows. Of course, it has also played a positive role – for example, many buildings have been upgraded in this way.”

Corresponding restrictions on “golden visas“, such as the recent doubling of the limit from €250,000 to €500,000 for some regions, are likely to dampen demand from abroad somewhat and thus have some effect on prices. But here, too, other countries are taking much more drastic measures: Portugal recently abolished the golden visa altogether.

Last September, the survey points out, the government announced a particularly ambitious housing package of 1.8 billion euros, which it claims will benefit 137,000 beneficiaries. This includes subsidizing interest rates on young people’s mortgages, grant schemes for renovations and energy upgrades for empty homes and for young people, an increase in student housing allowances and even a ‘social benefit’ scheme where the Government will convert empty buildings into homes and rent at a low rent to beneficiaries.

Many, perhaps most, of these programs and measures, the survey finds, go beyond the current election cycle, so the details of their implementation and impact will be seen in the future. donor.

dianeosis website

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