By T. Igoumenidi
The number of properties in Greece now commercially exploited via short-term AirBnB-type leasing has apparently doubled over the past year, available data shows, with the number expected to rise further in the near future.
The “downside”, according to real estate market analysts, is now a shortage of residential housing – mostly apartments – in certain central districts of Athens, especially around popular tourism sites and metro stations, as well as popular urban tourist destinations in the provinces.
Conversely, the crisis-devastated building sector is experiencing a mini revival in the country, not through new constructions but by renovations on properties destined for short-term leasing to tourists and visitors.
Meanwhile, according to the head of the independent public revenues authority, Giorgos Pitsilis, the number of property owners and managers that registered on a newly unveiled Internet platform for the mandatory declaration of income from AirBnB-type leasings exceeds 15,000 so far.
