Home prices in Greece have surged roughly 85% since 2017, while average household income grew only about 47%, according ...

Home prices in Greece have surged roughly 85% since 2017, while average household income grew only about 47%, according to a recent IMF report. Two in five Greek households now spend more than 40% of their income on housing, and another 20% spend between 30% and 40%. The crisis is real, and the political debate around it is getting louder. The government recently approved the National Housing Policy Strategy 2026-2035, a 10-year plan with a budget exceeding 6.5 billion euros. The plan targets construction and renovation of nearly 20,000 affordable homes for long-term rental, plus 2,350 new social housing units built on idle public land, including inactive military barracks in Acharnai, Kordelio-Evosmos, and Patra. Tenders are expected to launch before the end of 2026. A pilot program has already placed 50 renovated units across Athens and Thessaloniki, 10 in Athens and 40 in Thessaloniki. A separate "Social Anteparochi" program covering public properties in Paiania, Kalamata, Thessaloniki, and Larissa is expected to yield around 400 homes, with 120 offered at below-market rent. The Ministry of Social Cohesion says the immediate pipeline covers roughly 3,000 social and affordable units. Opposition parties are not impressed. PASOK is pushing its "GenRent" program, which calls for 40,000 new homes through renovation of unused municipal and public buildings, rent control mechanisms, and scrapping the Golden Visa in high-pressure housing areas. SYRIZA wants rent increase caps and targeted programs for students and workers in expensive cities. The Greek Left Alliance wants tens of thousands of vacant properties opened up and a permanent public housing stock built through state, municipal, cooperative, and non-profit models. The Communist Party, KKE, is calling for the full reinstatement of the Workers' Housing Organization, which was abolished in February 2012 under memorandum demands, alongside an exclusively state-run public housing program. Every party agrees housing has become a serious social problem. The question is whether Greece can shift from piecemeal fixes to something that actually sticks long term. #Greece #HousingCrisis #GreekEconomy