Greek rental market sees rates jump
The phenomenon of short-term holiday lets has shaken things up in Athens’s residential property rental market, with the cost of renting a flat in Koukaki, near the Acropolis, having risen above rates in the affluent northern suburbs of Ekali and Nea Erythraia.
The annual survey by the RE/MAX Hellas network of estate agencies shows that the average rental rate in Koukaki now stands at 6.5 euros per square meter per month, having recorded an increase of 35 percent in just 12 months. At the same time, the average rate in Ekali does not exceed 6.2 euros/sq.m. while in Nea Erythraia it is 6 euros/sq.m.
On a national level rental rates have increased 8.4 percent compared to 2017, as the stock of available residential properties continues to decline. Meanwhile the rise of short-stay letting platforms such as Airbnb and HomeAway has led to huge demand for apartments that would have previously been occupied by long-term local tenants, with their owners raising rental rates too. That trend is particularly obvious in popular areas of the capital, particularly in the city center, where the biggest hikes have been noted.
RE/MAX Hellas notes that demand this year has risen across the country, with just a few exceptions where rents remain unchanged. Around Attica rental rates have grown 6.9 percent, in Thessaloniki they’ve soared 14.4 percent and in the rest of the country they’ve posted an average rise of 7.1 percent. Rents have risen 15 percent in Patra and Volos, 14 percent in Sparti and 17 percent in Alexandroupoli.
In fact the only areas to record a decline in Attica were Nea Erythraia (9 percent) and Ekali (8.5 percent). However, there was an average increase of 6.7 percent across the northern suburbs, while in areas such as Maroussi, Halandri and Filothei the rise exceeded 14 percent. Rental rates have grown 20 percent year-on-year in the center of the capital and 4.7 percent in the southern suburbs, with Glyfada seeing a 12 percent advance.
