Where foreigners buy property in Greece
Athens (Attica) has drawn a wave of buyers partly through its Golden Visa residency-by-investment program, while the Cyclades (Santorini, Mykonos), Crete, and the Ionian islands attract holiday-home and rental-yield buyers at a much wider range of price points. Zone prices — the tax authority's official valuation per square metre — vary enormously between these areas, which is what really drives the difference in ongoing tax.
Property taxes in Greece
Most resale purchases are taxed under a flat 3.09% property transfer tax (FMA), calculated on the higher of the sale price or the property's official assessed value — so in areas where assessed values lag the real market, the effective rate on what you actually pay can end up a little lower. New-build property with a building permit issued after 2006 is technically subject to 24% VAT instead of transfer tax, though this VAT has been suspended and reinstated multiple times in recent years — always confirm the current status before assuming which regime applies to a specific new-build.
Notary fees run around 1–1.5%, and a separate land registry / cadastre fee of roughly 0.475% applies on top. Unlike Spain and Portugal, agency commission in Greece is commonly split between buyer and seller, or paid entirely by the buyer — typically around 2% plus 24% VAT — so it's worth clarifying with your agent up front rather than assuming the seller covers it.
Annual property taxes and ongoing costs
ENFIA, the annual property tax, is calculated from the same official zone price system used for the transfer tax, combined with the property's size, age, and floor. It's genuinely one of the more complex property tax formulas in Europe; in practice it tends to land somewhere between 0.3% and 0.6% of a property's market value per year, skewing toward the higher end in prime areas of Athens and the most sought-after islands.
Common mistakes foreign buyers make
Non-EU buyers need a Greek tax registration number (AFM) and a Greek bank account before completion, and — for property in certain border or strategically sensitive regions (parts of some islands and border areas) — an additional permit that can add real time to the process. Building it into your timeline early avoids the most common source of delay.