In the midst of her aggravation housing crisisup to 900,000 apartments nationwide are registered as vacant, with 77% of foreclosed homes in Attica being over 35 years old and around half in apartment buildings, as presented at Prodexpo 2025 by market players real estate.
The above picture of the housing crisis highlights a problem of quality and idle inventory, not just a shortage of real estate. In addition to properties held by investors and servicers, the “hidden” inventory remains off the market because it requires upgrades and capital with owners holding them closed, while rental prices are squeezed by the supply-demand “scissor.”
Housing measures have been activated, but the scale still seems limited. The programs “My house 1 and 2” have enabled approximately 35,000 young borrowers aged 35-40 to acquire their first home. “Renovate – Rent” pre-subsidises interventions to bring closed apartments back into long-term rental, while the VAT exemption for conversions from short-term accommodation acts as an additional incentive.
However, around 700 properties have been added since the start of the year, a number disproportionate to the potential stock of hundreds of thousands. The total housing policy file is estimated at 6.5 billion euros, with the next step being the establishment of a single housing body for better coordination, while the Prime Minister from Brussels announced the day before yesterday (23.10.2025) interventions for housing with the use of European funds for the renovation of houses, and not simply with the binding condition of energy upgrading.
Structural barriers remain strong. 58% of the country’s housing stock was built before the 1980s, which raises the cost of upgrading and burdens energy consumption. The tax burden, including ENFIA, makes holding expensive, while POMIDA’s position is that the lack of access by landlords to basic solvency indicators of potential tenants increases the perceived risk and keeps many apartments closed. The need for an accurate inventory of closed properties and a targeted policy of large-scale renovations, leveraging private capital and a strict schedule, is returning to the public debate.
The increase in supply
However, the market is not self-regulating only with more real estate listings and an increase in available homes. The Housing Supply Saturation Index shows that higher asking prices coincide with strong supply in the most expensive locations. In the southern suburbs and in the center of Athens, the most advertisements appear per 1,000 inhabitants, without this implying accessibility for middle incomes.
Conversely, in parts of Western Attica and the hinterland, there are fewer advertisements but lower prices, confirming that the local supply structure does not match the real needs of households for small and affordable apartments in areas served by transportation and proximity to workplaces. In short, it remains to be seen whether a measure of mass renovation of closed houses can really bring down rental prices, as the assumption of any financial risk of the upgrade by the owners (even if it is done with the helping hand of European funds) is inevitably passed on to the rents that will be asked when they go on a long-term lease.