Inflation in April in Greece may have reached the desired level of 2% (based on the goals set by the ECB), but this is not sufficiently imprinted on the consumer wallet as they are still facing its excessive cost housing and of their rental who have “caught fire”.
In addition to the “irreparable” rise in prices of recent years to basic goods, such as food, where despite the stabilization in no way they have never returned to the levels that were before the inflationary crisis, the big “rocky” for households is the continuous rally of the rents.
In April, after an increase of 10.5% last month, the increase in rent prices accelerated even more to a rate of 10.8%. It is noted that the annual rally of rents throughout 2024 was 5.6%. Despite a temporary balancing of increases for a few months in the fall, prices again “pull uphill” and even rapidly.
In fact, they are added to a price rally, which after the pandemic seems to not “brake” …
Continuous four -year -old
In 2021, the first year after the restrictive measures of the pandemic, rents rose rushing, reflecting the economy’s recovery, with an annual increase of about 5-6%. In 2022 the trend continued with greater intensity, due to increasing demand and limited supply with prices sting by about 8-10% on an annual basis. And in 2023, the increase continued, though at a lower rate than 2022. The annual increase was around 4-6%. Some areas, especially the most popular cities such as Athens and Thessaloniki, have increased greater than in other areas.
The reality of the annual housing costs that every household has to pay, as has been formed in previous years, is very different from what is officially reflected as a mean rental price, which “came to the surface” on the occasion of the announcement of the measure for a return of 1/12 of the total annual income.
So, while on the basis of rental prices listed in the ads, to find a family a 3 -room house it will take 700 to 800 euros a month, the official average price is … 255 euros.
The two government measures
For these reasons, that is to say, for the social dimension of the phenomenon due to the housing housing costs for Greek households, but also from the point of view of fighting tax evasion, the financial staff promotes 2 measures that are highly discussed in the public sphere in recent weeks.
This is the measure of the return of a whole rent to the tenant from the 12 he pays to the lessor each year, which is aspiring to lead to the revelation through the lease statements, all the amounts paid by the renters to the renters.
The second measure is the Real Estate Ownership and Management Register (Mida) expected in the summer, which will indicate all the details of each property, including the rents, in order to further limit tax evasion.