Greece’s two-home economy: mapping 1.8M holiday properties

While renting continues to gain ground across Europe, Greece remains one of the countries with the strongest traditions of homeownership. Primary residences and holiday homes continue to serve as the principal savings mechanism for Greek households, even as property prices rise significantly faster than incomes.

The debate surrounding Europe’s housing crisis typically focuses on house prices, rental costs, and the shortage of available housing. Beneath these figures, however, lies a deeper cultural and economic reality: the relationship between citizens and property ownership.

According to the latest OECD data, the countries with the highest homeownership rates are not Europe’s wealthiest. Instead, the highest rates are predominantly found in Eastern European countries, where the large-scale privatization of housing following the collapse of communist regimes created generations of homeowners.

This stands in sharp contrast to countries such as Germany and Switzerland, where homeownership rates remain relatively low—41% and 38.2%, respectively—despite their high levels of prosperity. Well-developed rental markets, strong tenant protections, and different investment cultures have reduced the need to purchase residential property.

The Greek Distinction

Although Greece is no longer among the top ten countries for homeownership, it continues to rank consistently among those with relatively high ownership rates. According to available data from the past fifteen years, the homeownership rate has gradually declined from approximately 84%–85% before the financial crisis to around 69%–72% today, depending on the methodology used.

This decline does not suggest that Greeks have abandoned the aspiration of homeownership. Rather, it primarily reflects the growing difficulty younger generations face in purchasing their first home, as residential property prices have increased at a considerably faster pace than wages.

At the same time, Greece continues to possess one of Europe’s largest stocks of secondary residences. The long-standing tradition of the family holiday home, the inheritance of real estate across generations, and the country’s geography have created a uniquely strong relationship with second-home ownership.

From the Primary Residence to the Holiday Home

For decades, the Greek family has viewed housing as a substitute for the welfare state. A home has functioned simultaneously as a savings account, a retirement asset, and a means of preserving wealth for future generations.

Even after the decade-long sovereign debt crisis, Greeks did not abandon this mindset. On the contrary, prolonged economic uncertainty reinforced the perception that land and real estate represent a more reliable store of value than many financial investments.

The growth of tourism, the expansion of short-term rentals, and increasing demand from foreign investors have added a new economic dimension to holiday homes. For the first time, second homes have evolved from purely lifestyle assets into investment products.

Greece’s “Second” Housing Market

The geographical distribution of holiday homes reveals what could be described as a “second Greece.” More than 1.8 million residential properties are used seasonally or as second homes—an exceptionally high proportion by European standards.

The continued expansion of tourism, the Golden Visa programme, and the rapid growth of short-term rental platforms are transforming a significant share of this housing stock from family-owned assets into investment properties. Today, the greatest concentration of value is found within the Attica–Cyclades–Halkidiki triangle, which also attracts the majority of new investment in the holiday home market.

Greece’s Leading Holiday Home Destinations

The regions with the highest concentration of holiday homes are:

1. Eastern Attica – Saronic Coast

• Rafina
• Nea Makri
• Marathon
• Lavrio
• Kalivia
• Saronida
• Anavyssos
• Palaia Fokaia

More than 250,000 second homes are located in this area.

2. Halkidiki

• Kassandra
• Sithonia
• Nea Propontida

The largest concentration of holiday homes in Northern Greece.

3. Cyclades

• Paros
• Naxos
• Mykonos
• Tinos
• Syros

4. Peloponnese

• Messenia
• Argolis
• Corinthia
• Laconia

5. Crete

• Chania
• Rethymno
• Elounda
• Agios Nikolaos

6. Ionian Islands

• Corfu
• Lefkada
• Kefalonia
• Zakynthos

The New Challenge

Paradoxically, the country with one of Europe’s strongest traditions of homeownership now faces increasing difficulties in providing access to housing. Younger generations are confronted with high borrowing costs, constrained housing supply, and rising land prices.

The result is a gradual transition from a model of near-universal homeownership to a more complex housing system, in which owning a home remains a fundamental aspiration but is no longer taken for granted.

Nevertheless, despite the evolving market environment, one defining characteristic remains unchanged: in Greece, a home continues to represent far more than a financial asset. It embodies family heritage, social security, and a measure of economic success. This enduring perception may explain why, unlike in many other European countries, property ownership remains at the very heart of Greece’s economic and social culture.