Greece’s Short‑Term Rental Market Is Smaller Than Thought — What That Means for Real Estate Buyers

New AADE figures force a rethink of real estate Greece

The latest official data on short‑term rentals is a reality check for anyone tracking property in Greece. Within two paragraphs: the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) records show 117,604 active Property Registry Numbers (AMA) reporting income from short‑term rentals in 2025, while industry analysis by STAMA argues the number of actual properties is closer to 80,000. For buyers, investors and local planners these are not just statistics; they reshape supply estimates, local rental pressure assessments and investment assumptions about the Greek housing market.

Why this matters now

Short‑term rentals sit at the intersection of tourism, housing policy and local planning. For several years stakeholders on all sides have relied on piecemeal counts, platform data and academic estimates to judge the scale and impact of holiday lets. The AADE dataset is the first comprehensive administrative snapshot and it forces a re-examination of many commonly held positions about the sector.

What the AADE numbers actually say

STAMA, the Short‑Term Accommodation Managers Association Greece, presented the AADE figures and framed them as a corrective to earlier assumptions.

• 117,604 Property Registry Numbers (AMA) were recorded by AADE as having reported income from short‑term rentals in 2025.
• Activity was recorded in 325 out of 332 municipalities, indicating a geographic spread well beyond traditional tourist hotspots.

STAMA points out that a single property can hold multiple AMA entries. Their working estimate is that the true count of active short‑term rental properties is nearer to 80,000, not 117,604. That gap matters.

How AMA differs from property count

The AADE number refers to registry lines — tax identifiers tied to income reporting — not to physical units. That distinction explains why headline figures can overstate inventory.

• A single villa with separate listings for separate seasons, apartments in the same building with multiple owners reporting jointly, or management companies registering the same unit under different product codes can inflate AMA totals.
• STAMA’s estimate that AMAs overstate units by roughly 40% in aggregate explains the divergence to about 80,000 properties.

If you are an investor trying to assess vacancy risk or yield compression, this is crucial. Supply shocks inferred from AMA figures would be exaggerated unless you convert registry numbers into actual units.

The geographic picture: not just Athens and the islands

One of the most consequential revelations is the sector’s footprint across Greece. According to AADE, short‑term rental income was reported in 325 of the nation’s 332 municipalities.

This tells us three practical things:

• Demand and supply dynamics are not limited to a handful of islands or the Athens metropolitan area. Smaller towns and rural areas now participate in the short‑term market.
• Local housing pressure—where short‑term lets reduce availability of long‑term rental stock—cannot be assumed only for established tourism hubs.
• Policy responses will need local resolution: municipal planning, zoning, and taxation decisions matter because the activity is broadly distributed.

From an investment perspective, that diffusion changes where opportunity and risk sit. The premium for ‘undiscovered’ locations may be smaller when short‑term operators are present in many municipalities.

What this means for buyers and investors

We lay out practical implications based on the AADE data and STAMA’s interpretation.

1. Valuing rental income forecasts

• If your underwriting uses platform counts or AMA as a proxy for supply, you should adjust estimates downwards for actual competing units. Overstating supply can understate future yields, and vice versa.
• With STAMA placing the active property count closer to 80,000, average occupancy and rate assumptions in smaller markets may be stronger than earlier feared.

2. Assessing housing stock conversion risk

• STAMA says much of the activity involves existing homes and holiday properties rather than new builds. For investors, that means the short‑term sector is drawing on already‑available housing rather than triggering fresh construction that permanently increases tourist‑oriented supply.
• The policy debate about whether short‑term rentals displace long‑term housing should focus on local tenure data: how many owners switch properties from long‑ to short‑term and for how long.

3. Location strategy

• Municipal spread suggests investors should map local regulation and taxation, not rely on national policy alone. A municipality where short‑term letting is common could be more tolerant or more aggressively regulated; both outcomes matter.

4. Management and legal compliance

• The AADE figures reflect reported income. That is a reminder that tax compliance and registration are increasingly enforceable. For buyers, the cost of running an Airbnb or holiday rental in Greece now includes proper tax registration, adherence to AMA rules, and likely more municipal paperwork.

The policy and planning debate gains a data backbone

STAMA’s central argument is procedural: public discussion must use common, transparent datasets. Their release of AADE figures is designed to shift debate from estimates to administrative evidence.

Vasilis Argyrakis, STAMA President, said: “For years we have been asking for the obvious: the publication of the real AADE data so that public discussion can be based on facts rather than assumptions.” That line is blunt and useful. Policymakers have long relied on platform-reported listings or isolated academic studies, which often measure different things.

What should planners and local authorities do with these numbers?

• Use AMA data to identify distribution of income‑reporting units, then cross‑reference with property registries to estimate the actual number of properties.
• Map where conversions from long‑term to short‑term use are concentrated to direct affordable housing interventions where needed.
• Assess whether municipal licensing, caps, or registration thresholds are proportionate to local impacts rather than guided by national rhetoric.

I agree with STAMA on one point: if you want sensible rules you need better inputs. But let me be clear — data alone will not settle conflicts.