Athens: rents in Kaisariani up by a quarter as housing eats into wages

What happened

According to the Spitogatos property portal's rent index for the third quarter of 2026, reported on Monday by the business paper Oikonomikos Tachydromos, asking rents in Attica rose by 5.0 percent within a year. Nationwide they were practically unchanged, after rising 7.2 percent a year earlier. The sharpest increases were in Kaisariani at 25.7 percent, Neo Psychiko at 21.8 percent and central Athens at 19.1 percent.

The most expensive area is Vouliagmeni at 22.4 euros per square metre, followed by Kolonaki–Lykavittos and Palaio Psychiko at 18 euros each. The municipality of Athens averages 12.2 euros, while the southern suburbs top the country at 13.5 euros. The cheapest areas are Agios Stefanos, Kamatero, Perama and Acharnes. The Bank of Greece warns that rising rents make it harder for households to access housing and recommends more supply and incentives to bring vacant homes back onto the market.

The mood on the ground

Oikonomikos Tachydromos describes the housing crisis as one of the most important economic and social issues for Greek households. The fact that the centre and once-affordable districts such as Kaisariani are rising so steeply hits those who work in the city and want to live there.

A comparison by Eleftheros Typos shows how heavy the pressure is: by European standards Athens rents are low, but because of low incomes they are seen as almost out of reach for average earners. According to an analysis cited there, a one-bedroom flat in the centre takes about 64 percent of an average income.

Other costs add up too. The portal odelalis.gr points to surveys in which the cost of living regularly ranks among people's main concerns, with a significant share saying their personal finances worsened over the past year. According to the statistics authority ELSTAT, renting households spend almost a quarter of their monthly budget on housing.

Voices from the media