In recent years, short-term rentals have been at the center of the public debate on housing, often being singled out as the primary cause of rising rents and reduced access to housing. However, the picture outlined by Eleftherios Potamianos, President of the Athens–Attica Association of Real Estate Brokers, in an interview with BnBNews.gr points to a far more complex reality—one in which the market itself operates with built-in balances, limits, and self-regulating mechanisms.
As he notes, short-term rentals began to gain real momentum around 2016, although they may have existed earlier. From that point on, activity intensified as they addressed a different audience compared to hotels—visitors who were not looking for full hotel services, but simply for accommodation. This shift led to the development of properties with different characteristics and investment profiles, altering the balance in both the hospitality and housing markets.
Reactivating underutilized properties and boosting the market
According to Potamianos, short-term rentals played a decisive role in bringing residential properties back into use—properties that until then had been fully depreciated or left idle. At the same time, they gave a boost to the real estate market and created work for many professions that had previously been on the sidelines. This upward trend peaked between 2017 and 2019, when both Greek and foreign investors were actively seeking small properties, mainly apartments of around 50 square meters, with the sole purpose of operating them as short-term rentals.
Market saturation and the first signs of fatigue
As the market filled up with new properties, the first signs of saturation began to emerge. Potamianos notes that several Greek investors subsequently attempted to develop properties in more remote or less popular areas—a strategy that did not deliver the expected results. Especially outside the main tourist zones, competition intensified, making it clear that each area can only sustain a limited number of short-term rental properties.
Today, properties located in strong and well-established neighborhoods continue to operate successfully as short-term rentals. By contrast, in areas with more price-sensitive rental markets—mainly in parts of Attica outside the city center—many properties have returned to the long-term rental market.
In his assessment, the long-term rental market does not currently face the acute problem that is often described in public discourse.
Where the real housing pressures lie
According to Potamianos, the most significant pressures are found mainly on the islands and in certain regional areas. There, properties are used as primary residences during the winter and are converted into short-term rental accommodations in the summer, creating genuine housing shortages.
Similar challenges also affect specific groups, such as employees who are transferred to a new location and arrive in September without being able to find housing easily. In these cases, the problem is more pronounced than in the broader urban fabric.
Questioning the link to rising rents
The President of the Association of Real Estate Brokers directly challenges the assumed link between rising rents in areas such as Chalandri, Kypseli, or Peristeri and short-term rentals. As he points out, there is no clear evidence that these increases are driven by Airbnb or similar platforms. Even the spillover of demand from “saturated” areas like Koukaki to other neighborhoods is not sufficient to explain the scale of rent increases observed.
Limited impact and resilient rents
In his view, the impact of short-term rentals on the permanent housing market is limited and does not exceed 5% to 10%, both in central Athens and in Thessaloniki—even after the introduction of restrictive measures.
In Athens, where restrictions on Airbnb listings have been in place for about a year, there has been no decline in rents, even in areas where interventions were implemented. On the contrary, prices have continued to rise, with recent adjustments averaging between 5% and 6%, remaining within single-digit growth rates.
Looking ahead, Potamianos believes the market functions in a self-regulating manner. There is a clear equilibrium point: above it, short-term rentals are more profitable; below it, long-term rentals offer better returns. If a property cannot achieve a certain number of occupied days, it makes little sense to remain in the short-term rental market and is better suited to return to long-term leasing. As he notes, this is already happening in practice.
When short-term rentals become a full-time job
Especially for private owners, short-term rentals can be highly demanding. Ongoing management, the need for high ratings, platform visibility, and daily interaction with guests effectively turn the activity into a full-time job—one that becomes increasingly exhausting over time, particularly when it is not approached on a strictly business basis.
In many cases, owners who had withdrawn properties from the long-term rental market for years are now returning to it, as the difference in returns has narrowed significantly.
If you want to hear well-documented insights into what is really happening with short-term rentals, rents, and the real estate market—from people who actively shape the industry—secure your ticket to the Short Stay Athens Conference 2026.
