Attica’s two-tier rental market holds its rates

Home rentals in Attica are evolving into a two-tier market: One side is fed by demand for short-term leases through popular online platforms such as Airbnb or Homeaway, and the other suffers from the decline in prices for conventional household rentals.

The divergence becomes even more obvious terms of price, as already some parts of Athens’s historic center – where demand for homes from abroad is strong, such as Koukaki, Plaka and Monastiraki – has pushed rates skyhigh. At the same time there is no supply for locals looking to rent, as any owners leasing out their property are exclusively address the international market.

This trend has helped contain the drop in rental rates: Bank of Greece figures show that in the first four months of 2017, rentals may have slid 0.4 percent year-on-year, but this has been the smallest decline since the outbreak of the financial crisis. In 2016 rental prices fell 2.6 percent yearly, after a 4.4 percent fall in 2015 and a 7.7 percent drop in 2014.

Rental rates in Athens today range between 7 and 10.5 euros per square meter for properties with high quality standards and located in privileged spots. Mina Harbali, general secretary of the Athens Attica Estate Agents Association, says Greek tenants have “a specific budget that usually does not exceed 500-600 euros per month, so they are forced to adjust their requirements.”