Rents in Athens: A full salary for an apartment – Greece posts EU’s second-largest rental spike

Greece recorded the second-highest yearly summation successful rental prices (+10.1%) successful the European Union successful 2025, 2nd lone to Croatia, according to an investigation by the Centre for Liberal Studies (KEFiM).

At the aforesaid time, successful Athens, the mean rent for a one-bedroom flat present accounts for 70.2% of the mean monthly salary, while for a two-bedroom flat the corresponding fig reaches 93.6%. The study is based connected the latest available information from Eurostat and the Bank of Greece. It highlights the continued deterioration successful lodging affordability successful Greece, astatine a clip when some spot prices and rents are rising faster than incomes.

Key findings

According to the study:

Across the EU-27, lodging prices accrued by 5.5% successful 2025, while rents roseate by 3.2%.

Greece recorded the second-highest rental summation successful the EU astatine +10.1%, down lone Croatia (+17.6%). It is followed by Hungary (+9.8%), Bulgaria (+9.6%) and Romania (+8.2%). By contrast, the lowest increases were observed successful countries such arsenic Italy, France and Finland.

From 2000 to 2025, rents successful Greece exhibited important volatility: strong maturation anterior to the situation (+53%), a crisp diminution during 2011–2018 (-26%), stagnation until 2021, and a renewed crisp summation from 2022, surpassing 2010 levels by 2025.

Residential spot prices followed an adjacent much pronounced trajectory: adjacent doubling betwixt 2000 and 2008, a steep diminution from 2008 to 2017 (-43% successful Athens), and a accelerated betterment from 2017 to 2025 (+86% successful Athens), exceeding 2008 levels by 2025.

The lodging outgo load connected households successful Athens is present disproportionately precocious compared to the EU average, arsenic rents are astatine European levels while wages stay importantly lower. In particular, the rent-to-income ratio successful Athens stands astatine 70.2% for a one-bedroom flat and 93.6% for a two-bedroom flat (2024), compared to 31%–34% and 46% respectively for the EU average.

Drivers of rent increases

According to KEFiM’s analysis, the crisp emergence successful rents successful Greece is attributed to a operation of factors: accrued request driven by tourism and short-term rentals (e.g. Airbnb), constricted supply of caller lodging during the situation period, inflows of overseas concern into the existent property market—primarily owed to the Golden Visa programme—the beingness of a ample fig of vacant properties, and the broader economical recovery, which is boosting demand.

The halfway of the occupation lies successful the inability of lodging supply to support gait with the accelerated emergence successful request successful caller years—an imbalance driven by a operation of some home and planetary factors. The terrible recognition contraction pursuing 2008, the important diminution successful incomes, the driblet successful lodging request during 2008–2017, the structural weakening of the operation sector, and rising operation costs person each rendered the betterment of gathering enactment alternatively slow. According to KEFiM, it is so not surprising that supply maturation importantly lags request aft a decennary of underinvestment successful the sector—and immoderate fiscal involution should beryllium directed toward addressing this gap.

At the aforesaid time, the lodging stock is ageing. Low levels of operation enactment during the 2010–2023 play failed to offset depreciation, resulting successful a contraction of the nett lodging stock and an summation successful its mean age.