Demand for Airbnbs in Athens Spurs New Listings

Photo © Greek Travel Pages (GTP)

Short-term rental supply and demand is on the rise in Athens, with listings increasing by as much as 40 percent in some neighborhoods in the Greek capital, according to data by E- Real Estates Panhellenic Network of Real Estate.

In September, listings in Athens were up by 19.68 percent to 10,884 up from 9,094 a year earlier, reported Euro2day.

In the wider Athens area, 16,386 properties in 21 Attica locations were listed on home-sharing platforms in September, marking a 19.01 percent rise compared to the same month in 2022 and 13,769 listings.

Leading the way in terms of supply were Maroussi with listings up in September by 42 percent year-on-year and 192 homes available online. Other areas included Zografou (+35.8 percent), Kallithea (+37.6 percent), Piraeus (+32.5 percent), Varkiza (+4.4 percent), Saronikos (+7.1 percent) and Oropos (+5.3 percent).

Athens houses. Photo source: Wikimedia.

Currently, there are 7,153 listed properties available in Athens 10 most popular neighborhoods for Airbnb-style rentals. A total of 5,416 are on Airbnb. The majority (2,096) are concentrated in central Athens, the Koukaki neighborhood near the Acropolis, Pangrati, where listings were up in September by 40 percent, and in Kolonaki.

Meanwhile, as part of ongoing efforts to tackle tax evasion and lost revenues and to ensure a fair playing field in tourism accommodation, the Greek Finance and Economy Ministry announced last month that it would be tightening rules and increasing penalties that apply to short term rental operators as of 2024. Among others, owners leasing out one property or more will be required to charge an extra 1.5-euro overnight charge per day.

Additionally, homeowners leasing their properties as short-stays who have not registered on the registry will have to pay a fine equal to 50 percent of the previous year’s gross income and a minimum of 5,000 euros. The fine is double if there is a repeat violation.