Greece is raising its real estate transfer tax from 3% to 15% for non-EU citizens buying property, with the change takin...

Greece is raising its real estate transfer tax from 3% to 15% for non-EU citizens buying property, with the change taking effect July 1, 2027. The move targets individual buyers only, not corporate structures, and is designed to cool foreign demand that the government believes has driven housing prices higher. EU citizens are not affected. The jump is steep. On a property worth 800,000 euros, the tax bill rises from roughly 24,000 euros to 120,000 euros. Including the municipal surcharge, the effective rate reaches 15.45%, up from 3.09% today, which is a five-fold increase in tax burden for affected buyers. Bank of Greece data shows that foreign property investment hit 2.05 billion euros in 2025, with around 1.2 billion of that coming from non-EU countries. Turkey topped the list at 214.4 million euros, followed closely by Switzerland at 210.8 million. Hong Kong, Israel, the United States, UAE, the United Kingdom, and China also ranked among the biggest buyers. Korina Saia, CEO of Premier Realty, said Athens luxury property has seen cumulative price growth of nearly 50% since 2021 and that the new tax raises entry costs for a specific buyer category without erasing Athens' core advantages, including its affordability compared to Lisbon, London, Paris, Berlin, and Madrid. She noted the measure will hit hardest on buyers purchasing properties in the 250,000 to 800,000 euro range, where the added cost significantly changes the return on investment calculation. Giorgos Gavriilides, CEO of Elxis, said his company expects a rush of decisions from non-EU buyers in the months ahead. He also raised the possibility that rural areas outside major urban centers could eventually be carved out from the measure, since those areas face no housing pressure to begin with. Exceptions for Greek diaspora members and long-term residents are under discussion, but the final bill has not yet been published and details remain unresolved. #GreeceRealEstate #PropertyTax #GreekEconomy