Our country retains, indeed, with characteristic … comfort, a negative first place in terms of the burden on households with housing costs. According to her latest research Eurostat for 2021, the percentage of the Greek population overburdened by housing costs reaches 32.4% compared to 21.9% in Denmark and 15.3% in the Netherlands.

These figures are for people who live in urban areas and have to spend more than 40% of their disposable income on the property they live in. These costs include, for example, rent, utilities, heating and water supply. Also, if we are talking about owners, any commission for servicing a mortgage loan is also calculated. “First” provides Hellas and with respect to the corresponding burden in rural areas, where the relative percentage of the population is 22% compared to 13.3% in Bulgaria and 10.8% in Romania.

The corresponding percentage in the corresponding 2020 survey was slightly higher at 33.3%, while the EU average did not exceed 7.8%. In 2021, this size increased to 10.4% of the population.

In Greece, 74.2% of renters spend more than 40% of their income on housing.

The picture is, of course, even worse among those who rent. According to relevant data, 74.2% of tenants in Greece spend more than 40% of their income on their housing needs. On the positive side, the relative percentage has been declining in recent years, as it stood at 79.2% in 2020 and reached 87.5% in 2014, when the crisis and economic downturn peaked.

Among owners dosing mortgage loanthe relative percentage of the population reaches 18.5% from 19.9% ​​in 2020 and 31.5% in 2015. The difference observed between those who rent and those who service mortgages is that, as a rule, borrowers have a higher income than those living in rent.

Of course, the financial hardship for many households also translates into corresponding delays in paying off debts. According to Eurostat, in 2021, 36.4% of the Greek population was in arrears in servicing their debts either on rent, DEKO accounts or a mortgage loan. In second place in the EU. with 20.4%, followed by Bulgaria and further countries such as Cyprus with 17.3%, Croatia with 16.6% and Ireland with 13.6%. With the energy crisis factor added in 2022, which raised the cost of electricity and heat, the next Eurostat review is expected to see a significant increase in the above percentages.

At the same time, rental prices continue to rise. According to research by Potamianos Real Estate Group, which focuses on real estate leases rather than advertising-related asking prices, today the average asking price in Attica reaches 7.9 euros/sqm, an increase of almost 35% compared to 2017. In some areas of the center, such as Pagrati and Kypseli or in Piraeus, rents have increased by more than 50% from 2017 to the end of 2022. Therefore, real estate market leaders point out that the supply of rental housing must be increased, but household incomes also need to be increased to cope with the increased cost of living.