The deterioration of the housing market in Greece, due to the financial crisis and the high taxation on Greek real estate, has driven many house owners to seek a different way of earning income from their properties. A new trend, which has already been established abroad, has been launched in Greece: renting your house or even a room of your house to foreigners for some months of the years. More than 1 billion euros in the market are attributed to this “alternative” tourist product. More and more people, instead of going to hotels, prefer to rent houses, apartments or even rooms in houses where Greek families live. Approximately 60 thousand households, from every corner of Greece take part in this online international market of low-cost tourism. Owners offer their summer houses without going to real estate agents and paying intermediary fees. Impressive mansions in cosmopolitan Greek islands, luxurious houses in the northern suburbs of Attica, small apartments in Athens city center, even rooms in lower budget areas in various Greek cities are available online. Prices range from 8 euros to 5 thousand euros. You can choose your “dream house” for your holidays, or a cheap room for your college student child, by simply pressing “enter” on your computer. Tourists now have a greater variety of housing alternatives to choose from, while owners have found an alternative way of dealing with their taxation expenses. They rent their houses, fully furnished and equipped with appliances and housewares and with their “additional income” they are able to pay their real estate taxes. Those enrolled in this online service have the chance to put up an album of photos of their property, their short CV and some personal information that they believe will attract potential clients. They include their contact info and the rental price and simply wait for anyone interested to respond to their application. This new way of renting your house is a low cost and well established way of becoming an entrepreneur, even for a few square meters and for some months per year.
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