The deficit of residences for sale or rent is one of the defining problems facing interested buyers or renters today, since this is also one of the reasons that pushes prices up.
The recent years’ “rally” in both sales and rental prices, combined with accurate and until recently high inflation, has resulted in a significant percentage of people being excluded from home ownership. At the same time, those looking for an apartment to rent often find themselves in a quandary due to the very high asking prices, especially in relation to the housing specifications.
Recent analysis by a major banking group estimated that during the decade 2012-2022, nearly 250,000 homes were degraded to such an extent that their marketability was reduced.
Essentially, they have been completely depreciated and can neither be rented nor sold (and of course not inhabited by their owners if they wanted to), because they need significant sums to repair and renovate them, in order to become functional again.
More than 50% of the country’s total stock concerns houses built in the period 1950-1980, i.e. 50 and 60 years ago
At the same time, just 11% of the total housing stock has been built since 2000, meaning that nearly 9 out of 10 of the country’s homes are 25 years old or older. In fact, more than 50% of the country’s total stock concerns houses built in the period 1950-1980, that is, 50 and 60 years ago. A recent assessment by industry bodies stated that 65% of the apartments available for rent in Attica today have never been renovated!
Houses without insulation, but also without earthquake shielding, have come to “demand” sale and rental prices that seem unrealistic, based on the current standard of living in the country. Nevertheless, the need for housing is real and pressing, as new construction is not only minimal compared to the past (about 9,000 – 10,000 properties/year, compared to 150,000 at the peak of the market in 2008), but also the cost of their construction is now prohibitive for many (at least 3,500 euros/sq.m.).
700,000 – 750,000 closed or vacant homes
From the above data, it can be concluded that great vigilance and immediate implementation of policies and measures are required to increase the stock of homes for sale or rent, especially in large urban centers and popular tourist destinations, where the greatest shortages are observed. It is estimated that around 700,000 – 750,000 homes are currently closed/vacant, at least based on what is declared on the E9 form. However, as it turned out recently, another 80,000 properties were not even declared in the E9, being “ghosts” for the tax authorities, but were normally declared in the Land Registry! Therefore, there is an immediate need to record both private and public property that remains largely unused, in order to free up real estate or build new housing, through development of plots of land or change of use to other buildings. In this way, the demand will begin to be met, which has been created after 10 years of zero investment in the construction of new properties (building activity decreased by 95% from 2006 to 2017).
