Public housing

In Greece, we use one word to symbolize the safety and security of living in a privately-owned home: keramidi (roof tile).

Property owners can submit applications until January 31, 2025, to participate in the home renovation program for houses that will be rented to households facing severe housing issues.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in his weekly review of the government’s work on social media, discussed wage increases, tax and social security contribution reductions, efforts to support incomes against inflation, financial incentives to attract and retain doctors in problematic and remote areas, and the demographic challenge.

The number of loans granted under the “My Home” program has reached 7,123, totaling €685 million to date. According to a joint press conference by Deputy Minister of National Economy, Mr. Nikos Papathanasis, and Minister of Social Cohesion and Family, Ms. Sofia Zacharakis, the loans are expected to reach 9,155 by the end of the year, with the budget rising to €1 billion.

Through an essentially forgotten application, the Real Estate Registry that was reactivated last October by the Minister of National Economy and Finance (MoEF), Kostis Hatzidakis, a “package” of public real estate was found that can be included in the government’s plan to solve the

Real estate market professionals say that, to succeed, the second round of mortgage subsidies should significantly raise the value of homes eligible for subsidized rates. This would widen the pool of available properties, they say.

The first tender that will allow private companies to use state-owned real estate for construction in exchange for building social housing alongside commercial properties, will take place before the end of the year, Economy and Finance Minister Kostis Hatzidakis has said.

The high-rise apartments - some with panoramic views of Singapore's tropical cityscape - are airy, light-filled and spacious enough to comfortably raise a family. They are also public housing units, and for decades were emphatically affordable, giving Singapore an enviable rate of homeownership.

The number of people living in houses they own has dropped, as the cost of buying or renting has skyrocketed and demand for homes by Greek and foreign buyers has strengthened.

The housing problem is now acute and Greece must find ways of dealing with it while lacking any social housing tools, in contrast to the rest of Europe, where such interventions cover 20%-30% of the market.

As the average tenant spends over a third of his or her monthly income to cover housing costs, renters' unions, organizations which are common elsewhere in Europe, are starting to gain ground in Greece too.