There were 138,000 available short-term leasing accommodations throughout Greece in July (on AirBnb and Vrbo platforms), an increase of 4% compared to July 2019.
The government is considering measures to restrict short-term leases to increase the number of available properties in the framework of the housing program announced by the government to offer “cheap housing” to young and vulnerable people. The government is also terminating the Golden visa institution for the same reason.
According to the Ministry of Labor, any decisions must be made carefully because the market has had many ups and downs during the last couple of years. As mentioned by the Ministry, until now, it was believed that after two years of pandemic, with the repercussions to the general sector, it would not be advisable to take measures until we have a clearer image of the situation.
In any case, however, the first step will be to settle the issue of business short-term leases from investors which lead to unfair competition.
Golden Visa
The last part of the housing policy, as announced, concerns the increase of the minimum investment in properties in the framework of the Golden Visa program from the current 250,000 Euro to 500,000 Euro, starting at the beginning of 2023.
The available properties for lease and purchase are disappearing
We are reminded that there were 138,000 available short-term leasing accommodations throughout Greece in July (on AirBnb and Vrbo platforms), an increase of 4% compared to July 2019.
In fact, more and more property owners in the center of Athens prefer short-term leasing, with Pagrati leading this trend with an increase in new property registrations while others follow close behind: Thisio, Exarhia, the Acropolis area, Neos Kosmos, Koukaki, Kolonaki and Keramikos.
According to the latest information of AirDNA, the increase of the registered properties (whole apartments and/or houses – not only rooms) “exclusively” on the Airbnb short-term leasing platform in the top center regions amounts to 23.56%.
In the commercial triangle of Athens which also constitutes the bastion for short-term leases, the fluctuation of registered properties on short-term leasing platforms was particularly resilient even during the covid-19 pandemic compared to the total of the center regions.
More specifically, such properties in 2019 amounted to 1,092, in July 2021 there was a decrease of 7.05%, amounting to 1,015, while in December of the same year there was a small increase of 0.20% with registered properties amounting to 1,017.
Moreover, this dynamic trend reached 1,267 properties with an increase of 19% compared to 2019, which was undoubtedly the best time for the short-term lease sector.
The most significant increase in new property registrations of short-term lease platforms compared to December 2021 is recorded in Pagrati, where from 183 residences the trend now amounts to 220 with an increase of 35.8%.
In Thisio, the increase of new properties on such platforms amounts to 34.64%, namely from 183 in December 2021 to 206 at this time.
Exarhia holds third place with an increase of 31.17%, the trend amounting to 404 properties compared to 374 in December 2021, the Acropolis area being fourth with a 26.74% increase, namely from 218 properties to 218.
N. Kosmos comes in fifth with an increase of 21.2%, the Koukaki-Makrygianni area sixth with an increase of registrations of 16.06%, Kolonaki seventh with an increase of 16.05% during the same time and Keramikos 8th with an increase of 8.05%.
Are there available properties for “Cheap housing”?
The program for housing loans provides for mortgages of up to 150,000 Euro. However, is this limit realistic? Are their properties in that range of prices? According to the Ministry of Labor, in dozens of areas in rural centers, there are available properties in this range of prices which could cover the housing needs of young people.
For example, the objective values in Agia Paraskevi vary from 1500 to 2050 Euro per square meter, in Marousi from 1500 to 2300 Euro, in Pefki from 1300 to 2250 Euro, in the 4th Municipal District of Thessaloniki (Toumba) from 1250 to 1550 Euro. Note that the objective values concern newly-built properties, while the program for housing loans concerns properties built up to 2007, the value of which is obviously less compared to newly-built properties.
The 150,000 Euro limit is considered by the government as the golden mean between the limits imposed by the market and the need to include as many beneficiaries as possible in the program.
