Declared income from real estate in Greece reached €9.28 billion in 2024, representing an increase of approximately 37% compared with 2019, as rising rents, strong demand for housing and expanding property-related activity continued to reshape the country’s real estate market.
According to official statistics from Greece’s Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE), covering income earned in 2024 and reported in tax returns filed in 2025, property income totaled €9.28 billion, compared with €8.53 billion in the previous year. The increase amounted to approximately €750 million, or 8.8%, while the five-year rise exceeded €2.5 billion.
The figures reflect a sustained recovery following the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Declared property income stood at €6.77 billion in 2019 before declining to €6.45 billion in 2020. It subsequently increased to €6.62 billion in 2021, €7.86 billion in 2022 and €8.53 billion in 2023, reaching its highest level in the latest available annual statistics.
Nearly 1.82 million tax returns report property income
AADE data show that property income was declared in approximately 1.82 million individual tax returns, accounting for about 26% of the nearly 6.9 million personal income tax returns submitted nationwide. The figures underline the importance of real estate as a source of supplementary income for Greek households, although the distribution of earnings varies considerably among property owners.
Approximately 1.57 million returns, representing 86.2% of those reporting property income, declared annual earnings of up to €10,000. Together, these taxpayers reported approximately €4.24 billion, while only 9,501 returns included property income exceeding €50,000 annually. The figures indicate that although total rental and property-related income has increased substantially, most individuals receiving such income are not necessarily large-scale investors or high-income landlords.
The increase reflects several developments affecting Greece’s property market. Strong demand for residential rentals, the expansion of tourism and short-term accommodation, and rising property values have contributed to higher rental prices in many areas. Athens, Thessaloniki and popular island destinations have experienced particularly strong pressure as housing demand competes with tourism-related investment.
At the same time, more extensive electronic reporting and cross-checking by tax authorities may have contributed to a greater share of actual property income being declared. Official figures do not establish precisely how much of the increase resulted from higher rents, additional properties entering the rental market or improvements in tax compliance.
Importantly, AADE’s property-income category includes more than residential rents, meaning the entire €9.28 billion cannot be attributed exclusively to housing rentals.
Rising rental revenues contrast with Greece’s housing affordability crisis
The substantial increase in property income comes as many Greek households continue struggling with the cost of housing, creating a widening contrast between revenues earned by property owners and the financial pressures facing tenants.
According to Eurostat, 26.4% of Greece’s population lived in households spending more than 40% of their disposable income on housing costs in 2025, compared with an EU average of 7.7%. Although Greece’s figure improved from 28.9% in 2024, it remained the highest among European Union member states.
Separate Eurostat figures show that Greek households spent an average of approximately 36% of their disposable income on housing in 2024, almost twice the EU average of 19%. These calculations include broader housing expenses, rather than rent alone, but illustrate the financial burden associated with securing and maintaining accommodation.
The challenge is especially pronounced among younger workers, students and families seeking long-term housing in major urban centers. Rising rents have frequently outpaced wage increases, while the availability of affordable properties has been constrained by limited new construction, housing stock remaining outside the long-term rental market and competing demand from short-term accommodation.
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