Short-term lease via the platform Airbnb is spreading in Greece as more and more apartment and home owners prefer to lease to tourists and visitors. However, they are surprised to see that the revenues they were anticipated to earn are decreasing. Reason for this is the plethora of offer that leads to the decrease of the leasing price per night.
At the end of 2018, short-term house rents in Greece increased by 21%, compared to the previous year, reaching 72,144 against 59,379.
Similarly, bookings for entire apartments increased by 29% to 22,079, while overnight stays increased by 24% (585,766).
Meanwhile, negative (-13%) and average daily values (-17%) were reported as the revenue per rental apartment (-28%), which amounted to 58.28 € compared to 80, 68 € in 2017.
The average price dropped to 126 € from 153 and average occupancy to 46.1% from 52.7% in 2017.
In the general negative climate there were exceptions, as there was an increase in revenue in some regions of the country, especially Lefkada (+ 167%), Ermionida (+ 101%), Corfu (+ 73%), Glyfada (+ 45%) Tinos (+ 42%).
According to the data, the top destinations for short-term rentals in Greece are: Crete, Athens, Corfu, Santorini, Mykonos, Thessaloniki, Rhodes, Paros, Kassandra, Zakynthos, Kefalonia and Lefkada.
In fact, the choices of tourists depend on the photos of the house, the description, the reviews and the price.
For his part, the President of the Association of Owners of Furnished Furnished Apartments – Homes, George Kanellopoulos, said that in Athens the bigger houses are more popular, since the competition is smaller with hotels and other rentals and attracts large families or groups.
Accordingly, Alexis Galinos, Managing Director of the Athens Development and Tourism Promotion Company, stressed that the hotel market can not expand as fast as the short-term lease, as different neighborhoods become new destinations contributing to the development of local entrepreneurship. He underlined that there will be a problem if the destinations are not protected.
President of the Pan-Hellenic Federation of Real Estate Owners Stratos Paradias pointed out that short-term lease is a solution for rescuing property due to heavy taxes and debts. “At the end of the year (tax, fixed costs, etc.), many will see that it is better for them to switch to long-term leasing.”
Finally, the Director of the Hotel’s Chamber, Agni Christidou, referred to the impact of the dramatic rise in the phenomenon, specifying that the houses should be taxed as much as hotels and stressed the need to take measures to protect the consumer. -via athens98fm.
Oh for goodness sake – free markets mean more competition, this means more efficiency, better prices for the consumers, this means more tourism and more income overall. If it easier and more affordable to pay taxes which are fair then people won’t risk not paying as long as there is a real risk that they will get caught. Of course people with vested interests will complain but look at your crazy housing market it costs the buyer and seller 2% in estate agency fees 2% for the lawyer and 2% for the notary and they huge tax on top. Look at UK 1% agency fees FOR THE SELLER ONLY and probably about the same for each side in legal fees and no purchase tax for most first time buyer and no sales tax or capital gains for personal homes. Thats what a free market and low taxes do and the market is good.