According to Housing Europe’s latest data, the European Federation for Public Cooperative and Social Housing, Greece has the highest housing costs as a percentage of its citizens’ disposable income compared to the rest of the European Union, despite its citizens reeling under hyper-taxation.
In particular, in Greece, the proportion of households that spend more than 40% of their disposable income to meet housing needs has risen to almost 41%, while the European average does not exceed 11.3%. Indeed, the trend is steadily worsening, as two years ago the figure in Greece stood at 33%, according to the survey the data of which was published by Kathimerini newspaper.
Housing costs include rent for tenants or the housing loan instalment for owners, as well as heating, water, electricity, telephony and utilities. However, if one takes into account the tax burden, the burden Greeks shoulder becomes unbearable. From 2010 to 2015 real estate taxes have risen sixfold, from € 500 million to € 3 billion, while in 2016 they rose again to 3.5 billion euros.
At the same time, household revenue dropped significantly (eg wage and pension cuts), while other property-related costs such as electricity and heating oil are also rising.
The result is that the gap has widened more in comparison with other European countries, where the financial burden of housing costs has not changed significantly during this period.
Even more troubling in terms of the social fabric, is that the rate surpasses the 90% mark in households whose income is among the lowest i.e. less than 60% of the average income.
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Source: protothema.gr
