The central pillar of the new package of measures will be the stimulation of supply of residences which the government is working on to solve the housing issue, with the Minister of National Economy and Finance Kyriakos Pierrakakis to speak of “targeted actions”.
As Mr. Pierrakakis announced yesterday from the stage of the “Athens Tax Forum 2025” there will be “new interventions to support citizens who find it difficult to meet the rising cost of housing (including housing)”, following the measures (return of a rent, reform of the rent scale, restrictions on short-term leases) that have already been announced and are gradually being implemented.
«We fully understand that housing is a very important issue. There is a segment of the population that has difficulty meeting the rents. It is a very large part of the monthly budget of many families in our country“, noted the minister.
According to information, the new measures, which will incorporate ideas from what is happening in the E.U. where corresponding problems exist, they will not move only in the direction of strengthening the existing ones but will expand to the field of real estate taxation in general (rent subsidies, abolition of taxes for small properties, VAT on new buildings, ENFIA, etc.). Particular emphasis will be placed on the creation of social housing by utilizing public real estate. The ongoing “My Home” programs will also play a dominant role.
The data show that the cost of housing has become the biggest financial pressure not only for Greek households (since the prices of apartments and rents have reached historic highs and the available houses on the market are becoming scarcer) but also for households in most countries of the European Union.
European proposals
The European Parliament, having processed the data of the housing crisis throughout Europe – among others – proposes to the Commission a set of interventions in the direction of:
- For public authorities to provide urgent measures to stimulate housing supply by reducing the regulatory burden across the value chain, removing barriers and red tape and mitigating barriers in local, national and EU legislation that undermine the competitiveness of the construction and renovation sectors.
- Efforts should be made to improve the availability of buildable land, especially in densely populated areas. Public Authorities to mobilize public land and facilitate zoning procedures for the construction of both social and affordable housing.
- For public authorities to facilitate permitting procedures to become significantly faster and simpler, including through measures such as the establishment of the principle of tacit administrative consent for the issuance of building permits for new construction and renovation works, except in cases related to the protection of the environment, cultural or historical heritage.
- Commission and governments to fully integrate the ‘renovation wave’ strategy, ensuring that building renovation is not only focused on energy efficiency, but also on increasing housing supply.
- For governments to promote an efficient and incentive-based tax system for housing policies, encouraging investment in housing and helping to limit pressures on house prices, thereby stimulating supply in areas of high demand.
- For governments to consider projects to rehabilitate public buildings for housing and convert unused public building stock into social housing.
- Member States and EU institutions to enable conditions to attract private investment to build housing for low- and middle-income households
- Stronger financial support to local entities for the development of affordable public housing.
Price increases
It is worth noting that during the last eight years, house prices in the E.U. increased by an average of 48%, while rents increased by 18%, often accounting for up to 40% of a household’s monthly income. The main cause of this crisis is the limited supply of housing stock, both private and public, due to insufficient construction and insufficient investment over the past decades. Indicatively, in 2024 the gross floor area index further decreased by 1.6% and the housing index remained stagnant.
The population of urban centers is growing, increasingly concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, while rural areas continue to experience population decline. At the same time, needs are evolving, as families get smaller, the population ages, and migration pressures exacerbate demographic changes.
T.t.E
According to the Bank of Greece, there are three main reasons that “disappeared” thousands of properties from the Greek market.
The first reason for the dramatic reduction in supply is the foreclosure of thousands of properties through non-performing loans, as a result of which they are… locked in the portfolios of banks and servicers. Although many of these are destined for auction, much remains inactive for years until legal or technical procedures are completed.
The second reason is the investment exploitation of the houses, either through short-term leases or through foreign investment schemes, which absorb more and more of the available stock. Houses that until a few years ago were rented to families, today function as tourist products, increasing the gap in the long-term housing market.
A third reason is the low production of new homes. Construction activity in the first half of 2025 fell by 14% in the number of permits, 24% in area and 17% in volume.
The “freeze” caused by the decision of the Council of Ministers on the New Building Regulation, combined with the increased cost of materials and energy, has stuck the construction industry at historic lows. The result is a market that operates with artificial scarcity: prices rise not because there is more demand, but because there is insufficient supply.