Registry Data Reveals Greece’s Short‑Term Rental Market Is Much Smaller Than Thought

New registry figures force a rethink of short‑term rentals and property in Greece

For investors watching the property Greece market, newly disclosed registry figures suggest the short‑term rental sector is much smaller than commonly believed. The Greek tax authority data presented at Short Stay Athens show a clear gap between headline counts of listings and the actual stock of homes letting to tourists.

That matters for anyone buying a holiday apartment, assessing rental income prospects, or weighing the impact of holiday lets on local housing supply. Our analysis explains what the numbers say, why prior estimates were inflated, and how buyers and policymakers should respond.

What the AADE data actually show

At the Short Stay Athens conference, officials from the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) reported that in 2025 there were approximately 116,000 active registration numbers for short‑term rentals (AMAs) with at least one booking. AADE executives Angelos Kouros and Apostolos Boutos presented these figures, which Stama Greece has used to question commonly cited estimates.

Key facts from the AADE data and Stama Greece analysis:

• 116,000 active AMAs in 2025 with at least one booking.
• These AMAs correspond to fewer than 80,000 properties (ATAK) in total, because multiple AMAs can attach to the same physical home.
• The AADE data therefore point to a substantially smaller active short‑term rental inventory than some industry counts suggest.

Stama Greece summarized the implication plainly: “The data from AADE dismantle the myths about short‑term rentals.” The tax authority head quoted at the conference, Angelos Kouros, also warned that many owners register an AMA to keep the option open, even if they never actually let the home short term: “many owners have issued AMAs so that they have this option, although in practice their property is either owner‑occupied or rented long‑term.”

Why previous estimates overstated the market

For years, debates about holiday lets and housing pressure in tourist areas have relied on headline listing counts. The Institute of the Hellenic Association of Tourism Enterprises (INSETE), for example, has published figures showing around 247,000 short‑term rental units available at the August peak. The AADE numbers create a sharp contrast with that claim.

There are several structural reasons for the discrepancy:

• Duplicate registrations: the same physical property can have more than one AMA. This frequently happens when an owner and a property manager both register the unit separately.
• Passive registrations: many owners apply for an AMA to preserve the legal option of short‑term letting but then keep the property for personal use or place it on long‑term rental contracts.
• Counting methodology differences: INSETE and other observers often count live listings on booking platforms during high season, which can include duplicated or inactive entries.

These factors mean that counting registry entries or platform listings is an imperfect proxy for the actual number of homes operating as holiday lets.

What this means for the housing market and tourism policy

Policymakers and local authorities have used platform listing estimates to argue that short‑term rentals are squeezing housing supply and driving up rents in popular areas. The AADE evidence forces a more nuanced view.

From our perspective, the main policy implications are:

• Decisions should be based on de‑duplicated, occupancy‑based data. The number of registered AMAs is less useful than the number of ATAKs that actually receive bookings and the occupancy rates those units achieve.
• Local housing stress should be assessed with neighbourhood‑level statistics on long‑term rental supply, vacancy, and price growth rather than relying on national listing aggregates.
• Tax compliance and transparency are central. The registry is valuable because it ties tax IDs, addresses and booking histories together, but authorities need to clean duplicates and flag inactive registrations.

We do not suggest that short‑term rentals have no effect. In tight local markets, even a few hundred homes moving from long‑term to tourist use can push up rents or reduce available stock. But the scale of that effect in Greece appears smaller than some narratives assert, at least according to AADE’s 2025 snapshot.

How investors should read these figures

If you are considering real estate investment in Greece—whether a holiday home for part‑year letting or a buy‑to‑let aimed at tourists—these takeaways matter:

• Supply is not as flooded as platform counts imply. Fewer than 80,000 properties receiving bookings in 2025 suggests less competition among professional short‑term landlords than many assume.
• Erroneous assumptions about oversupply can lead to underpriced acquisitions or unrealistic yield forecasts. We recommend modelling scenarios with conservative occupancy and revenue assumptions.
• Duplicate registrations mean due diligence must focus on property‑level data, not registry counts alone. Ask sellers for booking histories, occupancy records, and tax returns tied to the ATAK.

Practical steps for buyers and investors

• Request documented booking records by ATAK for the last 12–24 months rather than relying on listing screenshots.
• Check with AADE or a tax advisor about the AMA/ATAK history of a property. A property with multiple AMAs may be managed by a third party, which can be a red flag for duplicate listings.
• Factor in seasonality. Greek islands and coastal towns often show extreme peaks in occupancy. Model annualised income, not peak‑month figures.
• Plan for regulatory changes. Local municipalities have introduced rules limiting the number of tourist lets in certain areas; de‑duplicated registry numbers will make enforcement more precise.

Risks and blind spots in the AADE snapshot

The AADE figures improve the conversation, but they are not a complete picture.