Greek home ownership
Almost 68 percent of Greek households own homes free of debt or mortgages, a survey by the National Statistics Service (NSS) showed yesterday. The NSS, which surveyed a sample of 6,555 households nationwide from February 2004 to January 2005, said another 10 percent were homeowners but owed money on their property, with 15.9 percent renting their homes. The figures exclude foreigners living in Greece. Based on January data by the Bank of Greece, Greek households owed a total of 66.7 billion euros – equal to about 37 percent of the country’s GDP – with the outstanding balance of home loans at 44 billion, up 30.7 percent year-on-year. The survey showed 55 percent of Greek households living in apartments and 10.9 percent in partially detached homes, that is in duplex or row houses. Another 33.6 percent live in homes completely separate from other residences with 0.5 percent in «other types of dwellings.» Looking at the country’s housing stock, the survey showed that 46.3 percent of homes were built between 1961 and 1980, with only 34.1 percent under 25 years old. Turning to household budgets, the survey showed that homeowners spend 8.1 percent of their budget on housing expenses – electricity, heating, repairs, water, tax – with renters spending 20.7 percent. (Reuters)
