Rents rising much faster than wages
In recent years, rent costs in Greece have risen at a much faster rate than salaries. According to a new global poll performed by the British company Online Mortgage Advisor, average workers in Athens currently need to spend 55.9% of their income to pay the rent for their home. In 2018, the proportion was 42.4%.
The western port city of Patra does not fare much better, as 46.36% of a monthly salary is currently required, marking an increase of 7.8% compared to 2018, when 38.56% of the average monthly income was required. Globally, 45.5% of cities have become less affordable to live in when it comes to renting. The calculation factors in average monthly income, compared to the average cost of renting per square meter in the city center, based on data from Numbeo.
The data for Greece paints a dire picture compared to 2018, despite its emergence from the crippling financial crisis of the previous decade.
Based on data for the third quarter of 2023, from the Spitogatos online classifieds network, in Attica the average asking price for rents is 9.25 euros/sq.m., up 8.2% year-on-year. In the city center, there has been an increase of 10.9% to 10 euros/sq.m., while in the southern suburbs, the average price reaches 12 euros/sq.m., 9.1% higher compared to the same period last year. In the northern suburbs, the increase is 7.7%, at 10.8 euros/sq.m.
Meanwhile, an analysis by Utility Bidder (based on OECD data) shows that in 2012-2022 Greece had the lowest growth in average annual wages, from 24,339 euros to €24,709, which is the worst performance among the other OECD member-states. On the other hand, in Austria the average annual income rose by 24.7%, in Ireland by 23.8%, in Belgium by 22.9%, in Italy by 20.9% and in Spain by 17.9%.
