Greek appetite for housing remains strong, but for a growing share of citizens, ownership is slipping out of reach, a new survey by the Small Enterprises’ Institute of GSEVEE for the Athens Chamber of Tradesmen shows.
41.1% of respondents consider it likely they will buy a property in the next five years, while 34% see themselves selling one over the same period. At the same time, 46.3% say it is likely or quite likely they will sign a rental contract in the next five years, versus 41.4% who do not expect to rent at all.
The main reason 36.8% of respondents did not buy a home in the past five years was the high level of prices. Among those who wanted or needed to transact, 10.7% cite lack of access to bank finance or subsidy schemes as the primary obstacle, 6.7% point to economic uncertainty, and 4.7% blame the tax framework and complex procedures.
Foreign buyers, Airbnb and costs fuel price spiral
When asked what drives sale prices higher, Greeks point first to foreign demand: 34.2% of respondents see acquisitions by non-resident buyers as the main factor. Another 28.9% highlight weak public policy on affordable housing and lack of incentives for new construction, while 23% focus on surging construction and raw material costs.
For rents, the culprits shift but tell the same story of structural imbalance. The expansion of short-term rentals is flagged by 33.8% as the top force pushing rents up, followed by insufficient housing policy at 32.9% and foreign buyer demand at 26.9%.
When it comes to cooling prices, Greeks back a mix of supply, and demand-side interventions. Some 41.5% favour bringing unused properties back into circulation through incentives, 36.5% call for more social or affordable housing.
31.9% want tax breaks for buyers or tenants, 28.6% support incentives for new housing construction, 25.3% urge subsidies for renovation and reconstruction, and 16.9% call for cutting bureaucracy and compliance costs, from energy certificates to legalising irregularities.
Scarce suitable homes and slow, paper-heavy transactions
Even for those who did manage to move, the path was anything but smooth. Among the 33.8% of respondents who bought or rented a property in the past five years, 43.7% say their biggest difficulty was finding a suitable home. Another 15% flag the paperwork and procedural maze as a major headache.
Incredible, only 19% of transactions were completed within three months. More than one in four buyers (27.4%) needed over six months to close, while one in ten waited more than a year.
Cash buyers dominate as credit stays tight
Among those who bought a property in the past five years, more than half (54.1%) did so entirely with their own funds, without any bank loan. For the remainder who relied on credit, the key pain points were complex approval procedures, cited by 24%, and high interest rates or charges, cited by 13%.
Despite these hurdles, transaction volumes have been accelerating. Of those who bought or sold a property in the past five years (21.7% of the sample), six in ten did so in the last 12–24 months, and only 36% say their deal pre-dates the last three years.
Greek Statistical Office (ELSTAT) data on notarial deeds confirm the trend: after a pandemic dip in 2020, property sales jumped 40.1% in 2021, 7.2% in 2022, 8.8% in 2023 and a further 19.4% in 2024.
