Por Qué Vivir En Grecia Se Ha Vuelto Imposible

In 2017, buying a home in Athens cost around €1,300 per square meter. Today, that price has nearly doubled to €2,500, a staggering 88% increase in less than a decade. And it's not just Athens… In the eight years since 2017, property prices nationwide have risen by nearly 70%, faster than almost anywhere else in Europe. But wages haven't kept pace. The average salary has barely budged in years. And in real terms, many Greeks earn less than they did before the 2008 crisis. This is more than a housing issue. There's a cost-of-living crisis, a rental crisis, and now even a migration crisis, though not in the way you might think. Because the real pressure isn't coming from asylum seekers or refugees. It's coming from tourists, digital nomads, and wealthy foreign investors. Today, tourism fuels more than a quarter of Greece's total GDP, and nearly 2 million Greeks—a fifth of the population—make a living from it. But in Athens, short-term rentals like Airbnb have exploded, outnumbering local homes and driving up rents in the process. Why rent to a Greek family for 500 euros a month when you can earn the same in a week from a tourist? Entire neighborhoods have been transformed. And with more than 1 million short-term rentals nationwide, it's no longer just a city problem. In some areas, one in five homes is empty, owned by investors, or reserved for tourists. Local residents are being excluded, displaced, or forced into small apartments far from where they work. Inspired by: Why Living in Greece Has Become Impossible Why Living in Greece Has Become Impossible Why Living in Greece Has Become Impossible | Explained with Bananas What made living in Greece impossible | Explained with Bananas