Thessaloniki is the second largest city of Greece, with over 300 thousand people residing within the Municipality of Thessaloniki and close to 1,1 million in the broader Metropolitan Area of the city. As per the latest available data (2011) , the total building stock of the Metropolitan Area is slightly over 500 thousand buildings, 25% of which is empty. Based on 2020 data by the electric grid operator company, more than 70,5 thousand real estate assets are non-electrified, with about half of them (48%) having previously been used as homes. The ongoing energy crisis in Greece and high levels of energy poverty compared to the European Union average further intensifies an already grim situation concerning housing costs in Thessaloniki, in which it has steadily been above the national average.
The cumulative effects of the alarmingly upward trends in housing rents and prices constitute a devastating cost of living that impacts the most active workforce, especially young and vulnerable populations. The latter are compelled to either pursue a livelihood under extremely precarious conditions or migrate, usually abroad, leading to further decline and loss of capabilities for reversing these trends.
