Greece

In Greece, efforts to tackle the housing crisis and develop more affordable, sustainable housing have been voiced by a diverse mix of individuals and organizations. Key municipal leaders—such as Athens Mayor Giorgos Kaminis and Vice Mayor for Social Affairs Maria Stratigaki—have partnered with influential entities like Housing Europe to advance local social housing policies, including the establishment of a Social Housing Observatory in Athens. Academia is active through the University of West Attica, whose Social Administration Research Lab helps design strategies for housing policy and combating homelessness, in collaboration with the National Centre for Social Research.

From the real estate sector, the Hellenic Property Federation (POMIDA) is engaged in discussions around private sector involvement and the utilization of the national Land Registry for affordable housing projects. The Technical Chamber of Greece, led by Board President George Stasinos, publicly supports legislative reform for a comprehensive social housing system.

NGOs such as Emfasis Foundation and the Greek Network for the Right to Shelter and Housing provide vital outreach, micro-shelter models, and advocacy for vulnerable groups. Good collaboration partners in Greece would likely include Housing Europe, the University of West Attica, POMIDA, the Technical Chamber of Greece, Emfasis Foundation, and the Greek Network for the Right to Shelter and Housing, alongside proactive municipal administrations and welfare agencies like OPEKA.

Startups focused on proptech, sustainable construction, and energy efficiency also present promising collaboration opportunities, especially if supported through the national government's public-private frameworks.

Greece’s housing crisis is severe and persistent. Housing costs now absorb the highest share of disposable income in the EU, with the average Greek household spending over 35% of income on rent and mortgage payments. Since 2017, apartment prices have soared by more than 70% nationally—and almost 90% in the Attica region—while disposable incomes have dropped almost 24% since 2009. The cost of renting accelerated sharply between 2024 and 2025, rising nearly 11% annually, with prime city locations hit hardest.

A mismatch between limited housing supply—partly due to owners shifting properties to lucrative short-term rentals and a drastic reduction in new construction—and surging demand has worsened the situation. Although there are an estimated 700,000 vacant homes in Greece, most are unavailable to regular renters or buyers for legal, technical, or speculative reasons.

The groups most affected include young people, low- and middle-income households, students, renters, first-time buyers, immigrants, single-parent families, the elderly, and refugees. Vulnerable and marginalized communities experience both visible homelessness and less obvious forms of housing insecurity, with social inequalities and exclusion rising accordingly. The crisis is most acute in major urban centers, especially Athens and Thessaloniki, but also impacts smaller cities and regions.

Greece’s housing market in late 2025 remains dynamic, with rising property prices and robust demand. Around 73% of Greeks own their homes, while 27% rent, figures that have remained stable in recent years. The average asking price for buying an apartment nationwide ranges from 2,500 to 2,700 euros per square meter, with Athens’ prime districts reaching up to 4,000 euros per sqm and Thessaloniki averaging about 2,550 euros per sqm. For rentals, the median monthly price per square meter nationally is about 8 to 9 euros, rising to 11–13 euros in central Athens and 9–10 euros in Thessaloniki.

Publicly owned housing has historically played an almost negligible role: Greece is unique in Europe for having virtually no traditional social housing stock, with the sector accounting for less than 1% of the housing market. Major changes are underway in 2025 with an ambitious government plan that leverages public land and private investment to create up to 25,000 new “social housing” units, at least 30% of which will be reserved for low-income households, mainly in Athens and Thessaloniki. In this model, public housing overlaps with social housing, both targeting vulnerable groups, but relies on new public-private partnerships rather than a legacy of state-built estates. Rents in the new program are capped well below market levels, and selected tenants may acquire ownership through a rent-to-own mechanism.

The Greek national government is tackling affordable and sustainable housing through a combination of legislative action, new strategic planning, and targeted investment. In 2025, authorities launched a major social housing program designed to leverage underused public land and properties via public-private partnerships. The plan aims to deliver up to 25,000 new housing units, at least 30% of which must be reserved for low-income or vulnerable households, with the first 10,000 to be completed rapidly. Most projects focus on Athens and Thessaloniki. Beneficiaries are selected based on social and economic criteria, and rents are set well below market rates. The program uses mixed models, including newly built and renovated homes, and offers rent-to-own options, giving eligible tenants the chance to buy their property after ten years with no transfer fees.

To complement supply-side measures, Greece has introduced expanded housing loan and energy efficiency upgrade schemes. The “My Home II” program provides partly interest-free loans (covering up to 90% of the purchase price, with loans up to €190,000) to first-time home buyers aged 25–50. The “Upgrade my home” scheme offers interest-free or fully subsidized loans for energy renovations, promoting sustainability and lowering living costs.

Additionally, stricter regulation on short-term rentals and plans to return vacant homes to the market are under way. These actions, supported by EU funding, represent Greece’s most far-reaching government-led effort in decades to boost affordable, sustainable housing and reduce social exclusion.

Housing cooperatives in Greece have historically played a minimal role in the domestic housing market. While building cooperatives have existed since the early 20th century, these have primarily functioned as access points for land and self-built homes—often for specific professional groups—rather than providing collective or non-profit rental housing. There is no reliable data on their exact share, but estimates place cooperative housing as accounting for far less than 1% of the total housing stock, making the sector marginal and largely experimental.

In recent years, stagnant wages, increased housing demand, and a lack of social housing have generated renewed interest in alternative housing models, including cooperative and collaborative arrangements. However, legal, institutional, and social barriers persist, and existing building cooperatives are usually dissolved after members receive title to their homes, with limited continuity or adherence to cooperative values.

The Greek national government’s approach to cooperative housing is modest and mostly exploratory. Policies include some legal and financial support mechanisms for new cooperative initiatives, recent pilot programs, tax incentives, and discussion of community land trusts, but no comprehensive policy or significant state funding is in place to scale this sector. The bulk of recent state initiatives have focused on large-scale social housing programs delivered via public-private partnerships, not on the development of a robust cooperative housing sector.