Affordable housing in Canada

A cautionary tale on mortgages from Canada

In the years ahead, Greece should take great care regarding its enthusiasm for North American-style mortgages as a vehicle for encouraging homeownership. 

It should look no further than Canada, where a recent report says Canadians are carrying the highest personal debt levels of all G7 countries - much attributed to homeownership. 

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.