Spitogatos, Greece’s No. 1 real estate listing website, collaborated with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the report “Inside Greece’s Housing Affordability Paradoxes.”
Data from the Spitogatos platform contributed to the IMF’s analysis and was utilized by economists to examine structural imbalances in the Greek housing market, ranging from regional price disparities to mismatches between supply and demand, as stated in a related announcement.
The report highlights that Greece is not merely facing a housing shortage, but a complex allocation problem that requires evidence-based, data-driven policy decisions.
As part of the report “Inside Greece’s Housing Affordability Paradoxes,” the International Monetary Fund (IMF) utilized data from the Spitogatos platform to analyze the key challenges currently facing the Greek housing market. The analysis focuses on regional disparities in housing prices, mismatches between supply and demand, and the impact of short-term leases on housing affordability. The report’s findings highlight that the housing crisis in Greece is not solely linked to housing supply, but also to the distribution of the available housing stock, underscoring the need for evidence-based and effective policy interventions.
The report highlights that Greece faces a structural problem of housing supply distribution rather than simply a shortage of housing. Although Greece has one of the highest ratios of housing units per capita in the European Union, pressures on housing affordability remain intense and continue to worsen.
According to the IMF’s analysis, asking prices for housing have risen by approximately 85% since 2016, while the corresponding increase in disposable income stood at 47%. As a result, in 2025, median housing costs exceeded one-third of disposable income, with approximately two in five households spending more than 40% of their income on housing. Spitogatos’s asking price data reveal significant variations across the country’s regions, with Attica, Thessaloniki, and tourist destinations recording significantly higher price levels compared to the rest of Greece.
The report also highlights significant imbalances between supply and demand. According to Spitogatos data, despite the increase in available listings, the average time a property remains on the market is approximately eight months for sales and six months for rentals. At the same time, 55% of properties listed for sale exceed 200,000 euros, a price level that remains out of reach for the majority of Greeks. Similarly, the average asking rent stands at approximately €575 per month nationwide and approximately €785 per month in Attica. Significant mismatches are also evident in the characteristics of the available housing stock. One-third of listings for sale are for homes larger than 120 square meters, while demand has shifted toward smaller properties. At the same time, in Attica and Thessaloniki, only 30% of available homes for rent are smaller than 60 square meters, compared to approximately 55% in the rest of the country’s regions.
Special mention is also made of the growth in short-term rentals. According to the report, listings for such rentals increased by 240% between 2017 and 2024, reaching 230,000, which corresponds to approximately 3.5% of the total housing stock. The IMF’s analysis, which combined data from Spitogatos, INSETE, and ELSTAT, found that the high concentration of short-term rentals is linked to higher housing prices and reduced availability of properties for long-term rental in high-demand areas.
Finally, the report highlights the energy inefficiency of the Greek building stock, noting that Greek homes consume approximately 65% more energy per square meter compared to Portuguese homes, further increasing households’ total housing costs.
Based on the report’s findings, the IMF proposes a combination of measures to address the challenges in the housing market. This combination includes reforming legislation on undivided co-ownership, targeted restrictions on short-term rentals, investment in social and affordable housing, and boosting productivity in the construction sector to address labor shortages.