Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis has announced a plan for the immediate stimulation of the supply of new housing on the market by introducing state-owned assets.

Speaking at an event on real estate organized by Deloitte Hellas, Marinakis said: “Public properties, old and abandoned buildings, can offer a solution to the housing issue. The goal is for these undeveloped properties to be given to private individuals for development, with 30% being converted into social housing and the remaining 70% being given by the private individual for sale, so that investors can also have the relevant benefit for the funds they will spend.”

He added that “the government plans to develop the real estate of the Hellenic Public Properties Company (ETAD) and the Growthfund, specifically 6,500 properties that have been deemed suitable. Of these, around 1,000 will be placed on the market for development, with the aim of creating 10,000 new homes, with 60% of them located in Athens and Thessaloniki. In total, it is estimated that 25,000 new homes will be created from public properties.”

This is a particularly ambitious target for the government, given the lack of progress seen since 2022, when the institution of social compensation was first established, but has been inactive to date.

The latest changes on the institutional framework allow private individuals not only to lease, but also to sell the properties that will result from land and property development projects of the state. This was crucial in order to increase the sustainability of these projects and make them more attractive to the private sector. Among the groups that have expressed their interest in participating in relevant social compensation competitions are Aktor and Dimand Real Estate.

The goals set for the social compensation scheme provide for covering the housing needs of 5,000 young people, up to 39 years old, or young couples, who will be able to be housed either in apartments with affordable rent or acquire their own property through the “rent-to-own” model.