Rental costs soar 9 pct in Greece and 25 percent in some suburbs

The rents that landlords charge in areas of Attica hitherto considered the most affordable has soared to match the increases recorded in the rest of the property market over the last 12 months.

The latest available data from the Spitogatos Property Index, drawn up by the team at the spitogatos.gr property ads website, show that asking rates for residential rentals in the western suburbs of Athens during the third quarter of the year rose 24 percent from the same quarter in 2018 to reach 6.2 euros per square meter per month, from 5 euros/sq.m.

The suburbs of Piraeus – where Attica’s least expensive housing used to be found – saw an even greater increase, of 27.3 percent: The average asking rate comes to 5.88 euros/sq.m., against 4.62 euros/sq.m. just one year ago. Therefore 100 sq.m. apartments are now on offer for 580 euros per month, up from 460 euros a year earlier – i.e. a hike of 120 euros/month.

On the other hand, rates in Eastern Attica (Pallini, Paiania, Spata etc) posted a 2.8 percent decline year-on-year, with the average monthly rate at 5.83 euros/sq.m., from 6 euros/sq.m. in Q3 of 2018, making the area the cheapest in Attica. As for the center of Athens, it appears the rental rally is peaking as the average rate grew by just 2.5 percent in a year to 9.23 euros/sq.m., from 9 euros/sq.m. in 2018.

The cost of renting is considered excessive for the average Greek household, especially given that the average rate was at 6-6.5 euros/sq.m. a few years ago.

Across Greece, Spitogatos showed a rate rise of almost 9 percent year-on-year in the July-September period, to 7 euros/sq.m. from 6.43 euros/sq.m. last year.

From 2011 to 2015, rental rates around Greece slumped by a total of 40 percent, all but offsetting the 43 percent growth seen from 2000 to 2010. Today they appear to be climbing back toward that level.

Source: ekathimerini.com