Asking prices for rental housing in Attica increased 4.8% in the first quarter of this year compared to last year, while the increase was even greater in Thessaloniki, 12.5%, and in the rest of Greece, where it reached 11.4%.
This is a clear example of the persistence of the housing crisis, where the deficit of available housing for rent continues to push prices to new heights, even though citizens’ real incomes remain compressed.
According to the Spitogatos – SPI price index, high prices were maintained in Q1, although the rate of increase appears to be slowing down – in 2025 it did not exceed 4.5% – compared to an increase of 8.1%, which had been recorded in 2024.
Even so, prices, especially in the center of Athens, where a large part of the demand is focused, are now very high, competing with the northern suburbs. Both in the center and in the north the average asking price is now €11.54 per square meter, with the average increase in the last 12 months (first quarter 2025-2026) being 5.8% and 3.9% respectively. This phenomenon is because the stock of rental housing in the center is of smaller surface area compared to the northern suburbs.
Large increases are also observed in the rest of Attica with 6.3% on an annual basis and an average price of €9.38/sq.m.; as well as in the Municipality of Thessaloniki, where the increase in the first quarter of this year reached 8.3% to €10/sq.m., from €9.23/sq.m. a year ago.
Overall, from the first quarter of 2019, compared to Q1 in 2026, the increase in the average asking price in Attica was 30%. However, excluding the center of Athens, where the increase is smaller (16.5%) since a large part of the rise took place in the period 2017-2018, the increases in most areas of Attica are much higher.
A recent analysis by IOBE noted that between 2019 and 2025, the average wage in the private sector increased, but fell marginally in real terms. According to the Labor Ministry, over that six-year period, the average nominal wage increased by 17.4%.
Although the minimum wage expanded 13.4% in real terms, the average wage for all employees remained stagnant in purchasing power terms. This is because the remaining wage brackets did not follow the minimum wage increases, so that today, 63% of private sector employees are paid the minimum wage.