Housing costs take a huge bite out of Greek incomes

Greek families pay nearly four times more than their fellow Europeans in housing costs as a percentage of their income, according to the latest survey by Housing Europe, the European Federation for Public, Cooperative and Social Housing.

Households in Greece spend 41 percent of their disposable incomes on housing costs, while the European average comes to just 11.3 percent.

Housing expenses include rent or mortgage installments, the cost of heating, water, electricity, telephony and cleaning.

Crucially, the rate of households living in properties they own has dropped to an all-time low of 73.9 percent.