Affordable housing rose to the top of the European agenda for the first time, as EU leaders asked the European Commission for a comprehensive plan to tackle the housing crisis at their summit on 23 October. In this context, Ilias Papageorgiadis, CEO of the MORE group, spoke to EURANET+’s weekly “Panorama” and to Marianna Pliakostamou, analyzing the characteristics of the Greek housing reality and the need to combine European and national action.

According to him, Greece is not just experiencing a variant of the European crisis but an enhanced version of it. As he explained, “in Europe there are not enough houses available, while in Greece there are, but a large part of them remains closed and unused”. This, he argued, differentiates the country from other markets where the problem is mainly a lack of inventory.

Mr. Papageorgiadis emphasized that the situation in Greece is becoming more difficult due to lower incomes compared to the European average, which burdens the ability to access housing. At the same time, energy poverty and the high cost of living increase pressure on households, especially younger ones, who face serious barriers to owning or renting a home.

One of the critical problems he described is the insecurity of landlords in long-term leases. As he mentioned, many are reluctant to put their property on the long-term rental market, as they fear that in the event of delays or damage they will not be compensated in a timely or efficient manner. “If the tenant doesn’t pay or if there’s damage, there’s no guarantee that the landlord will collect what’s owed or repair the damage right away,” he stressed, pointing out that this is a major reason why many turn to short-term rentals.

In relation to Airbnb-type short-term rentals, Mr. Papageorgiadis mentioned that countries such as Spain and Portugal have implemented strict regulations, but the results were not as expected. “The restrictions imposed did not bring housing back into the long-term market,” he stressed, warning that Greece should avoid the same mistakes. In his view, regulations are not enough on their own and can be counterproductive if they are not accompanied by confidence- and security-enhancing measures.

At the same time, Mr. Papageorgiadis underlined the need to activate the existing housing stock, as many houses remain old, energy insufficient or inactive due to multi-ownership, bureaucratic obstacles and high renovation costs. He emphasized that the energy upgrade is necessary, but it must be implemented in a way that will not burden the citizens too much, so as not to limit the housing supply even more.

At the European level, the debate on housing is also strengthened thanks to the initiative of the Greek government, which put the issue on the table of European leaders.
The Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, proposes the creation of a single database of good practices and the investigation of Community funding in the context of the next EU budget.

Summarizing, Mr. Papageorgiadis argued that affordable housing is a critical social and economic issue and that Greece, due to its particularities, needs a combined approach: strengthening housing policies at the national level, alongside European support, technical assistance and the utilization of new financial tools. As he noted, the effective treatment of housing requires consistency and practical solutions that will enable the activation of the available housing stock and the gradual normalization of the market.