The Ministry of National Economy and Finance has set the property transfer tax for third-country nationals at 15%, with effect from January 1, 2027. Citizens of countries outside the EU are who that covers. Every buyer pays 3.09% today, whatever his nationality.
Residential property alone falls inside the measure. No law has been published.
Commercial premises, offices, shops, plots of land, hotels, warehouses, and other non-residential real estate stay at 3.09%. Treatment of European Economic Area (EEA) nationals awaits clarification.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced the increase at the 90th Thessaloniki International Fair, inside a €2.2 billion housing package. Subsidized mortgages worth €2 billion, electricity cost cuts, and abolition of ENFIA in small settlements sit alongside it. Its stated aim is to hold back foreign demand pressing on residential prices.
What each route costs before and after
| Purchase | Transfer tax now | From 2027 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| €250,000 conversion | €7,725 | €37,500 | €29,775 |
| €300,000 conversion, a typical ticket | €9,270 | €45,000 | €35,730 |
| €400,000 residence | €12,360 | €60,000 | €47,640 |
| €800,000 residence | €24,720 | €120,000 | €95,280 |
Total cash to enter the cheapest tier moves from €257,725 to €287,500. At the top tier it moves from €824,720 to €920,000.
Distance between the cheapest and the most expensive entry point widens with it, from about €17,000 in tax today to €82,500.
Conversions sit inside the measure
Commercial-to-residential conversion and the restoration of listed buildings are what the €250,000 tier covers. On the current wording, the completed acquisition counts as residential, so the tier falls under the 15%.
Nothing about the route changes except its price. It remains the cheapest way into greater Athens, and it becomes €29,775 more expensive to use.
Statutory language will settle how a converted property is classified at the moment of transfer. That one line in the bill decides whether this tier costs €7,725 or €37,500 to enter.
The stock is finite, and that is the harder constraint
Converted units in Athens transact in a band running roughly from €250,000 to €320,000, and very little else in the greater Athens market reaches that price. Every conversion takes a building out of a pool that does not refill.
Conversions of idle commercial buildings are expected to deliver 3,000 to 5,000 homes across the Athens metropolitan area by 2027. Those figures describe the whole of the forward pipeline.
Athens holds a countable number of commercial floors and listed structures suited to residential use. Pricing in the segment follows that arithmetic rather than the tax rate.
What the segment offers is access to a price point, not a tax saving. That access narrows as the pool of convertible buildings does.
Two forces now run in the same direction. Supply of convertible buildings falls month by month, and the entry cost of what remains steps up on January 1.
The deed fixes the rate, not the deposit
Transfer tax falls due before the notary signs. To pay 3.09%, the deed has to be signed before the measure takes effect, currently January 1, 2027. No preliminary agreement, reservation, or paid deposit holds the rate.
Behind a completed transfer sit the tax registration number, the bank account, source of funds review, and title diligence. A buyer who cannot travel needs a power of attorney drafted for the purpose.
Non-residential assets keep the old rate
Offices, retail units, warehouses, hotels, and development land stay at 3.09% for third-country buyers under the measure as specified. Investors whose objective is Greek property exposure rather than a home keep today’s rate on those categories.
Golden visa eligibility runs on separate rules from transfer tax. Whether a given commercial asset qualifies for a residence permit is a question the program answers, not the tax code.
Transfer tax reaches property transactions alone. Greece’s non-property investment routes, which run through securities and deposits rather than real estate, sit outside the measure entirely.
The old rate holds until parliament acts
January 1, 2027 is the announced start, and July 1 has circulated as an alternative. Nothing settles until parliament votes and the law is promulgated.
National elections fall due in spring 2027. Composition of the next parliament will bear on any measure that has not completed its passage by then.
Until then, the door stays open and the rate stays at 3.09%.
