ATHENS, May 19 (BV) — Around 12% of Greece’s housing stock, or nearly 800,000 properties nationwide, currently stands empty, despite growing pressure on the country’s housing market, according to officials from the Social Cohesion and Family Ministry.
Officials say many of the vacant homes could potentially return to the residential market under the right financial and legal conditions.
Speaking at the Real Estate Forum in Athens, housing policy director Mando Zisopoulou said the findings come from a national housing policy study expected to be published in the coming days.
“The problem we observe from the data is that, unfortunately, most of the empty houses are not in areas suffering from major pressure,” Zisopoulou said.
According to the ministry, many vacant properties are located in regions such as the southeastern Aegean and the Ionian islands, while the number of unused homes in major urban centers remains comparatively smaller.
Authorities also highlighted the poor condition of much of the empty housing stock.
Around 22% of vacant homes were built before the 1960s, while another third were constructed between 1960 and 1980. Overall, roughly 80% of the empty properties are more than 25 years old and were built before 2000.
Officials say this means significant investment will be needed before many of the homes can become habitable again.
The Greek government is preparing a strategy focused first on reactivating unused homes before accelerating the construction of new residential buildings.
As part of that plan, the ministry intends to allocate around €500 million from National Strategic Reference Framework funds for renovation programs targeting older vacant properties.
“This is a hidden treasure, since the empty houses are numerous and easier to activate compared to constructing a new building,” Zisopoulou said.
Legal and bureaucratic obstacles remain another major challenge.
According to Lena Kontogeorgou, head of the Athens, Piraeus, Aegean and Dodecanese notaries association, many properties are tied up in inheritance disputes or unresolved urban planning issues.
“This is why the bill on inheritances, to be voted on soon, could resolve many existing problems,” she said.
Greece has faced mounting housing pressures in recent years due to rising rents, tourism-driven short-term rentals, inflation and limited new construction, particularly in Athens and other major urban centers.