Greece

Greece is facing a severe housing crisis characterized by sharp increases in both rental and purchase prices, while household incomes have stagnated or declined. As of 2025, the average rent nationwide has reached around 440 euros per month, with prices rising fastest in popular tourist regions and major cities such as Athens and Thessaloniki. The crisis is exacerbated by the preference of property owners to lease homes through short-term platforms like Airbnb, further reducing the supply of long-term rentals. A significant factor is the drastic fall in new housing construction over the past decade, with newly built dwellings dropping by up to 90% compared to pre-crisis levels. Despite the existence of roughly 700,000 vacant homes, these are often not available for regular citizens due to legal, structural, or speculative reasons. The burden falls heaviest on low- and middle-income households, young people, renters, students, and especially first-time buyers. Nearly half of Greek households now face difficulties paying rent, mortgage installments, or utility bills. Housing costs consume the highest percentage of disposable income among EU countries, making Greece the most expensive EU country in this respect. Affordability challenges are widespread and growing, resulting in rising housing insecurity, homelessness, and increased social inequality.

The Greek government is addressing the housing crisis through several initiatives aimed at increasing affordability and sustainability: 1. **Social Housing Initiative**: Starting in 2025, the government will launch a tender process to develop social housing on state-owned land. About 30% of the units constructed will be reserved for vulnerable households at below-market rents. Developers will cover all construction costs and retain 70% of the units for private use. 2. **Revision of Housing Strategy**: The Ministry of Social Cohesion and Family is drafting a new National Housing Strategy to be submitted to the European Commission. This strategy includes allocating public properties for social housing developments and enhancing incentives for construction companies. 3. **Potential VAT Suspension**: The government is considering suspending VAT on new buildings to boost housing supply and affordability. 4. **Short-Term Rental Regulations**: New rules are being implemented to improve safety, reduce tax evasion, and balance housing availability by restricting short-term rentals, potentially increasing the pool of long-term rentals. These efforts aim to address the severe housing crisis by improving affordability, increasing supply, and ensuring more sustainable housing options.

Housing cooperatives in Greece play a **highly limited role** in the national housing landscape. While building cooperatives have existed since the early 20th century, their function has mostly been to facilitate access to land or self-built homes for specific groups, rather than to provide non-profit or collectively managed rental housing. Unlike in other European countries, **cooperative housing in the modern, democratic sense is virtually absent**, with only a handful of pilot initiatives and research-oriented groups active, mostly in Athens and Thessaloniki. No reliable data exists on the share of cooperative housing in the total housing stock, but given the marginal scale of such initiatives, it is estimated to be **negligible—far below 1%**. The vast majority of housing in Greece is either privately owned or rented on the open market. Recent years have seen a **renewed interest in cooperative and collaborative housing models** due to pressing affordability challenges, but development has been slow. The legal framework allows the formation of civil housing cooperatives, though historically these have not followed international cooperative principles and often dissolve once members receive their properties. Current policy tools include a 2023 Cooperative Housing Initiative offering legal and financial support for new cooperative projects, tax incentives, and pilot programs exploring community land trusts. However, **cooperative housing remains largely experimental and has yet to scale up**, facing institutional, legal, and social barriers. The national government’s support so far is mostly exploratory, and there is no comprehensive policy or funding for cooperative housing.

Greece’s housing market continues its post-crisis recovery, marked by strong demand, rising property values, and stretched affordability for many residents. As of 2024, about 68% of Greeks own their home, down from 74% in 2010, while the remaining 32% rent their residence. Homeownership still dominates but has been declining due to economic pressures. The median rental price for apartments nationwide is around 9–12 Euros per sqm per month, with higher rates in Athens and Thessaloniki. Median purchase prices for apartments vary by location but generally range from 2,200 to 2,800 Euros per sqm in urban areas, with some premium locations exceeding this. Publicly owned housing in Greece is almost non-existent, constituting less than 1% of the national housing stock. Following the closure of the Workers’ Housing Organisation (OEK) in 2012, the country shifted away from building or managing social rental housing. Historically, Greece’s model of social housing focused on subsidized homeownership rather than rental provision, differing from typical European models. As a result, “public housing” and “social housing” are not significant, active categories in Greek cities. Efforts to provide affordable or social rental units are currently extremely limited and mostly targeted at the most vulnerable populations, such as refugees or the homeless. The imbalance between high demand and limited supply, especially in urban centers, continues to push prices upward, intensifying housing affordability challenges for renters and first-time buyers.