MDAT SA and its SRA support the development of local housing policies that respond to real needs on the ground. For this reason, MDAT has developed the infrastructure for data collection and analysis through strategic partnerships with universities, independent researchers and experts with the ultimate goal of creating a Housing Observatory. The Housing Observatory in Thessaloniki aims to monitor and analyse market trends, housing conditions, social dimensions of the housing issue as well as policies and actions in the housing sector by integrating data and research on this multifaceted issue.
Existing knowledge about issues relevant for housing in Thessaloniki is extremely limited, with the last relevant study until recently dating back almost 30 years. It seems that the settlement of the housing issue in the late post-war period, through the mechanism of the land-for-flats system, fragmented and diffused micro-ownership and high rates of owner-occupation, has contributed to a loss of interest, at least for the majority of the population, in both scientific research and public debate.
However, the current context is characterised by rapid developments which are bringing the issue of housing back to the fore in a pressing way. During the crisis period, market trends have been negative (e.g. falling prices and construction activity), while at social level, housing difficulties are becoming more widespread for a growing section of the population (falling incomes, rising taxes, rising non-performing loans, rising energy poverty). More recently, the revival of the real estate market with the rise in investment interest, the expansion of short-term (tourist) rentals, the revival of construction activity, have led to an upward trend in house prices, intensifying the housing problems that emerged in the first years of the Global Financial Crisis (Baseline Study on Social and Affordable Housing, 2021).
MDAT in cooperation with the Aristotle University Department of Spatial Planning & Development, Faculty of Engineering and a team of researchers with solid expertise undertook a field research on the issue of housing in the city of Thessaloniki with funding from the Open Society Foundations and editing and publishing support by Heinrich Böll Foundation Thessaloniki. This study is the first systematic research on the issue in 30 years. It was followed by a more focused study on vacant stock in the Municipality of Thessaloniki.
The data and scientific evidence from this research is a key tool for the design of integrated local housing policies and actions for social and affordable housing presented in this section.
Support to Homeless and Vulnerable Households – Municipality of Thessaloniki
HOUSING FIRST
Housing and Work for the Homeless
Kalipsi
Pilot Social Housing Programme for the most vulnerable groups (Recovery and Resilience Fund)
Co-housilience
NETCO
Come HoMe Project
MDAT/SRA seeks to participate in European and international networks in order to exchange know-how between stakeholders and strengthen advocacy actions for sustainable local housing policies. In this context, the Social Rental Agency of MDAT is an active member of Housing Europe and participates by providing data and joint actions in European observatories such as the Housing Europe Observatory and the European Observatory on Homelessness
