Buying Real Estate in Greece – Legal Fundamentals of Purchasing a Property

Many dream of settling permanently in Greece or acquiring a holiday property there. Following the financial crisis, prices for Greek real estate fell sharply for many years; they have since been rising noticeably again in many regions, driven by strong demand from abroad. Compared with other southern European EU countries, however, prices in many areas remain at a moderate level.

Buying property in Greece proves lucrative for many purchasers. Alongside houses and maisonette apartments in the major cities of Athens and Thessaloniki, properties on the heavily touristed islands — such as Crete, Mykonos, Rhodes, Corfu, or Santorini — as well as holiday homes on the Peloponnese or in Halkidiki are in particularly high demand. Short-term touristic letting (via Airbnb and comparable platforms) is often especially attractive to investors; however, the municipal and tax rules governing such short-term letting, which have been tightened in recent years, must be observed.

In which regions can property be purchased in Greece?

Greece is a multifaceted country, combining a rich history with modern infrastructure. The most popular regions include:

• Athens & Attica: Attica is Greece’s most populous region and home to the capital, Athens. Property prices here have recently risen owing to high demand, but remain, by comparison with major German cities, often lower.
• The Cyclades: This island group in the Aegean Sea — including Santorini, Mykonos, Naxos, and Syros — is equally popular with tourists and buyers, and is well connected by ferry and by air.
• The Peloponnese: This peninsula south of the mainland is home to around one million people. Historically notable are the cities of Corinth and Sparta and the ancient sanctuary of Olympia. Houses and villas with sea views, often as second homes, are especially sought after.
• Crete: Greece’s largest island and the fifth-largest island in the Mediterranean, known for around 300 days of sunshine a year and as a significant EU olive-oil exporter. Prices vary considerably between the generally more expensive west and the less expensive east of the island.
• Corfu: One of Greece’s most affluent regions, with a long tourist tradition and a diverse range of properties, from village houses to holiday villas on the Ionian Sea.
• Thessaloniki: Greece’s second most important metropolis, with a major port, an international airport, and central connections to the European road and rail network — also attractive to businesses seeking a place of establishment.

What kinds of property can you buy in Greece?

The intended use is decisive in choosing the right property:

• Residential property: City flats and apartments are suitable as a second home, while houses and detached villas often additionally offer views over the landscape. Compared with other European countries, purchase prices are often lower, while good returns can be achieved through touristic letting.
• Land: Buying a building plot is suitable for individual construction projects. The Greek market also frequently offers part-finished buildings, which can be acquired comparatively cheaply and completed according to the buyer’s own wishes.
• Commercial property: Companies looking to establish or expand in Greece benefit from favourable local conditions and the country’s geostrategic position in the eastern Mediterranean within the EU — ranging from office complexes to logistics centres and production facilities.

Process, purchase contract, and land registry

Property purchases in Greece are carried out by means of a precisely drafted notarial purchase contract, which describes the subject matter of the sale exactly and governs the purchase price, its due date, any rights of withdrawal, and any contractual penalties. As under German law, under the Greek Civil Code the transfer of ownership takes effect only upon registration with the competent land registry or cadastral office; payment of the real estate transfer tax is a precondition for the registration of the transfer of ownership.

The land registry (Ypothikofylakio) or the national cadastre (Ktimatologio) has jurisdiction for particular municipalities. Historically, Greek land registers were organised by person (by the owner’s name) rather than by plot; to remedy the difficulties this caused, the Ktimatologio is being built up as an object-based system modelled on the German land register. By mid-2026, around 99% of the country had been recorded; full completion is targeted for the end of 2026. Once the objection periods for a given region have expired and its entries have become final, the legal certainty offered by the Ktimatologio increasingly approaches that of the German model.

Since the reform of Law 4194/2013, legal representation is no longer mandatory for the notarial execution of the purchase contract. Nevertheless, engaging a lawyer — particularly on the buyer’s side — is strongly recommended, since the lawyer carries out the land registry search, reviews the property from a legal standpoint, and prepares the contract.

Required documents

Purchasing a property in Greece regularly requires:

• a Greek tax identification number,
• a valid identity card or passport,
• confirmation from the competent tax office that the real estate transfer tax has been paid.

Ancillary costs and taxation

In addition to the purchase price, the following ancillary costs and taxes should be budgeted for:

• Real estate transfer tax: around 3.09% of the purchase price or of the higher objective value (3% plus a municipal surcharge of 3% on the tax amount).
• Notary fees: staggered by purchase price, in practice generally between around 0.8% and 1% of the purchase price.
• Costs of registration with the land registry or cadastral office: around 0.5% of the purchase price, plus VAT on the fee itself.
• Broker’s commission: in practice generally around 2% (plus VAT) per contracting party.
• VAT on new-build properties: in principle 24% of the purchase price; its application is currently suspended until 31 December 2026, so that only the real estate transfer tax applies in the meantime.
• Ongoing property tax (ENFIA): the uniform tax, calculated separately for each property, in force since 2014.