For years, short-term rentals and Golden Visa property purchases have been blamed for Greece’s housing crisis. But new data suggests the real issue lies elsewhere.
According to an analysis of ELSTAT’s building census carried out by ReDataset of Resolute Cepal Greece, the main driver of the housing shortage, especially in the Attica basin, where pressure is highest, is the massive volume of empty homes.
More than a quarter of central Athens homes stand empty
The numbers are striking. In central Athens, 26.8% of all homes, 117,137 units, are vacant. Piraeus follows with 21,712 empty units (22.1%), along with high rates in Zografou (21.6% or 9,706 homes) and Ilioupoli (15.2% or nearly 6,000 homes). Northern and southern suburbs show lower, though still elevated, vacancy rates.
- North: Kifissia leads with 6,441 empty homes (18.4%), followed by Marousi (15.5%, 5,546 homes) and Papagou–Holargos (13%, 3,008 homes). Vrilissia performs best with just 9% of its housing stock unused.
- South: Only Kallithea exceeds the 20% mark (20.2%, 13,093 homes). Nea Smyrni records 18.5% (7,553 homes) and Glyfada 17.3% (7,725 homes). Even Elliniko–Argyroupoli shows a 14.9% vacancy rate (3,678 homes).
In the western districts, vacancy rates remain high. Aigaleo reports 21.5% of homes empty (8,164 units), while in Peristeri, the largest municipality in western Athens, 13,212 homes, 18.9% of the total, stand unused.
Short-term rentals have minimal impact on the market
The findings align with a recent study by the Athens University of Economics and Business, which concluded that homes used exclusively for short-term rentals represent just 0.4% of Greece’s total housing stock. Their effect on rental prices is estimated at less than 1.8%, capital.gr notes.
In central Athens, short-term rental activity accounts for roughly 12,500 properties, removing only 2.86% of the area’s total housing supply of 437,188 units. These listings represent just 10.66% of all vacant homes, many of which were previously derelict or unused.
Rents still surge in areas with almost no Airbnb presence
The short-term rental narrative breaks down further when examining rent dynamics. In Peristeri, one of Greece’s largest municipalities, only 98 short-term rental units operate today, according to AirDNA. In Aigaleo, the number is just 77. Yet rental prices have soared.
Spitogatos’ SPI index shows that from 2019 to 2025, the average asking rent in Athens’ western suburbs jumped 54.2%, rising from €5.77/m² to €8.9/m², despite negligible short-term rental activity.
