Vacation rental

Property rentals startup Blueground aims to more than double the apartments it leases out in Greece and abroad by the end of the year.

Looking up the address 38 Falirou Street in Koukaki, central Athens, on Google Maps, you will find a photo of a car repair shop. If you actually go to the spot, however, it will be a letdown if you had been hoping to have your car repaired, and Google Maps won't be to blame, as a new enterprise has only just begun operating at this address in the last few weeks.

The major increase in short-term holiday rentals in Athens and other large cities in Greece, and the rise in the popularity of city breaks are highlighted by Bank of Greece data on travelers and their expenditure in the first quarter of the year.

Just 5.3 percent of the total stock of apartments for rent in Attica are currently bound for short-term leasing, numbering below 12,000 across the capital, according to data presented on Thursday by the Sharing Economy Association (SODIA).

Psyrri, the Athens neighborhood situated near Monastiraki and Plaka that had been in decline in recent years after becoming something of a hotspot for entertainment venues and eateries in the 1990s and 2000s, is today proving increasingly popular among both tourists seeking holiday rentals and the accommodation market in general.

The Athens housing market remains under the strong influence of short-term rentals, as 70 percent of buying interest in small residential units concerns properties destined to be upgraded and leased through websites such as Airbnb and HomeAway. As a result property prices posted mild growth in the first quarter of 2019, according to an analysis by Geoaxis chartered surveyors.

In a pilot crackdown last year, the Independent Public Revenue Authority (AADE) traced hundreds of foreign nationals who purchased properties in Greece without declaring them, thus avoiding the ENFIA property tax, and dozens of taxpayers who had concealed their incomes from rental properties. 

The absence of an adequate and integrated legal framework on short-term property rentals through websites such as Airbnb and HomeAway is leading to individual apartment blocks coming up with their own regulations and solutions for any problems that emerge.

Property prices in Greece recorded their biggest rise of the last decade last year, as the RE/MAX estate agency network's annual survey points to an average increase of 7.3 percent from 2017, when annual growth had only come to 1 percent.

The Greek property market appears to have emerged from its decade-long hibernation: Bank of Greece figures showed that 1.35 billion euros flowed into the country last year for property purchases (mainly houses) by foreign investors.