IMF: Empty housing in Greece should be taxed

International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a new report on Greece separately focused on housing crisis and suggested to the authorities better use existing housing stock.

Possible measures include:incentives to renovate old apartments, social housing programs and even an additional tax on empty properties in high-demand areas.

According to IMFthe housing strategy gives Greece a chance to move towards more sustainable and cost-effective measures that increase housing supply rather than simply handing out subsidies to an already overheated market.

In the Fund’s Article 4 report for Greece it says that the priority should be to use existing houses and apartments. For this IMF proposes to expand and better target existing renovation programs, including measures to improve the energy efficiency of buildings.

Tax on closed apartments

The fund pays special attention to empty properties. According to IMFhousing renovation measures can be combined with targeted restrictions against long-term idleness of apartments. Among such measures is an additional tax on closed real estate – vacancy surtax – especially in areas where the demand for housing is especially high.

The fund also proposes to reduce barriers that prevent housing from returning to the market. We are talking, in particular, about changes in inheritance law, expedited settlement of litigation and solving problems with the compliance of buildings with legal requirements.

In other words, IMF actually says what Greece It has long been clear without international reports: the problem is not only a shortage of housing, but also that a significant part of housing is closed, entangled in inheritance, debts, repairs, documents and bureaucracy. There is real estate, but the market does not see it. Very Greek: the house exists, there are keys, but you cannot live.

Prices increased by more than 85%

According to IMFhousing prices in Greece V 2025 grew by 7.75%. This reflects stronger domestic demand, while foreign demand weakened following the increase in program thresholds “Golden Visa”.

Total from 2016 housing prices have increased by more than 85%noticeably outstripping the growth of household incomes. The fund notes that part of this growth is due to the recovery from the crisis, but housing in Greece now looks overvalued by about 10%.

Rents also began to rise faster. According to IMFV 2025 rental rates increased by 10%. For a country where wages do not always follow prices, this is no longer just market dynamics, but a direct blow to families, youth and renters.

Why housing remains expensive

IMF emphasizes that housing affordability has become a key structural issue Greece. At the same time, the situation has its own characteristics: the level of ownership remains high – more 60%but housing costs still put pressure on households.

One of the reasons is the old and energy-inefficient housing stock. After the financial crisis, many owners underinvested in renovations and are now faced with the high cost of remodeling. As a result, some apartments physically exist, but do not actually function as normal housing.

The fund points out that the imbalance in the market is associated not only with a formal shortage of apartments, but also with poor distribution of the housing stock. Near 35% housing is not used as the main place of residence.

Many empty properties have been taken off the market for a long time without renovation. The reasons are lack of funds from owners, high reconstruction costs, fragmented ownership, inheritance disputes and problems with legalization or compliance of buildings.

Supply and demand don’t match

Additional pressure is created by the mismatch between supply and demand in terms of size, quality and location of housing. This is especially noticeable in areas where the market is affected by short-term rentals, internal relocation, an increase in the number of single households and students.

IMF also speaks to the need for more ambitious social housing programs with moderate rents. Such measures, according to the fund, should be combined with incentives for the construction of affordable housing in areas of high demand, but without undue burden on the budget.

For maximum effect, the fund proposes to closely coordinate housing policy with social, energy and European initiatives. Translated from the language of international reports, this means a simple thing: the crisis cannot be solved with one tax measure. We need repairs, legal clearance, infrastructure, social housing and control over the market, where the price of an apartment has long been divorced from real wages.

Editorial comment

Offer IMF taxing empty apartments sounds harsh, but it gets at the real problem. IN Greece too much housing both exists on paper and is not available to people. Some apartments remain closed for years, others go into short-term rentals, and others are stuck in inheritance and legal disputes. And young families at this time are considering whether they can rent a normal apartment without paying half their income for it.

But there is a risk here. If the state simply introduces a new tax without giving owners real tools to repair, legalize and return properties to the market, it will be another fiscal measure under the guise of caring for housing. That is, the problem will remain, but citizens will be billed again.

Housing crisis in Greece has long ceased to be a question of the real estate market. This is a question of demography, youth, emigration, salaries and the future of the country. If housing becomes unaffordable, people do not start families, move away, or put their lives on hold. And then the government wonders why the population is aging, schools are closing, and workers have to be looked for abroad.

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