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There haven’t been any sharp declines in prices on the Greek market. There is no oversupply of demand or supply, and no one is in a hurry sell their property.
Apartments in Greece can be found at a very modest price about €50,000-60,000. In terms of comfort and location, these options (small-size apartments in old buildings) are significantly inferior to the segment of €100,000+. But even in large cities you can find a new one-room apartment with excellent characteristics for €70,000-90,000.
Housing deals in major centers of Athens and Thessaloniki are more often held for investment purposes. Depending on the property, the rental yield can reach 3-7% per annum, plus there is a potential to increase the cost per square meter. Excellent apartments are available in Greece for €100,000-200,000: two or four rooms, central location, new building or secondary market.
Townhouses and villas are more often purchased by foreign buyers for themselves and their families, the price of a small house starts from €200,000-250,000. It is easier to buy a spacious townhouse in Thessaloniki for this money than in Athens. In the latter case, you will have to spend more or sacrifice the space.
Exclusive villas in the luxury segment cost €1,000,000 or more. More often, such properties are built on islands, but there are also decent options in popular large cities and their suburbs.
The Greek real estate market is different from the Turkish or Bulgarian one. It is not customary to arrange two or three swimming pools, gyms and SPA in a residential building. On the other hand, the cost of maintaining real estate is automatically reduced, since you do not have to pay for an impressive infrastructure.
Let’s take a typical property for calculation: an ergonomic one-bedroom apartment in the historical center of Thessaloniki. The main advantage of this apartment is its convenient location. Historical center, Ladadika quarter, which is adjacent to the main port of the country. The place attracts tourists with an abundance of taverns and restaurants, shops and ancient architecture. Historical buildings in this quarter have been preserved, as they were not damaged in the fire of 1917. The area is suitable for both permanent residence and long-term or short-term rental housing.
One-bedroom apartment of 45 sq.m in the city center, secondary segment. The building was built in 1965. The property is in good condition, as the apartments are fully renovated and furnished in 2020. The transaction in the secondary segment goes like this: you have to pay a deposit (5%) to secure the property; you pay the remaining amount (95%) at the signing of the contract.
When buying apartments at the construction stage, more payments are made: 25-30% of the total cost is paid at the signing of the contract; upon the progress of construction – 10-20% per stage; the remaining amount (10-20%) – when handing over the keys.
The cost of the property is negotiable: depending on the terms of the transaction, the buyer and seller can agree on both a lower and a higher price. In some cases, obtaining a residence permit can play an important role in making a transaction. The terms of the Greek "golden visa" program are quite loyal to investors. A residence permit is issued for investments in real estate from €250,000.
Both the seller and the buyer pay for the agent's services. The minimum realtor fee set by the Greek Federation of Brokers to avoid unfair competition is 2% plus VAT (24%) on each side.
In this case, the buyer pays €1,240, the second part of the fee is paid by the seller. In some cases, the services of a realtor can cost 4% of the price.
Various factors influence the increase in the realtor's fee. In our practice, standard sales and purchase transactions in Thessaloniki do not require extra charges. If you buy an inexpensive apartment (cheaper than €50,000), the client pays only €1,000 plus VAT. On the other hand, if the property is located on a remote island and you need to fly to it by plane, if more than one agency is involved in the transaction, then the prices may be higher. We always warn our clients about this in advance.
The buyer of the property pays a transfer tax of 3% of the value. Also, in addition to the main part of the tax, there is a municipal surcharge (stamp duty), which is 0.09%. For this apartment in Thessaloniki, you have to pay €3,090. There are no penalties for late payment of tax, since it is impossible to conclude a transaction before depositing funds and receiving a receipt.
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Prices in Thessaloniki are very different. Lawyers work under different conditions. In general, the budget should include from 1-2% for a lawyer and notary.
The rate for services for certification and registration of a purchase and sale transaction starts from 1% of the property’s value. In some cases, the cost of a notary may be higher. Pre-appointment with a specialist is not common: there is no need for this. The fee in our example will be €1,000.
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Participation of a notary in the transaction is mandatory. The buyer chooses the specialist independently or on the recommendation of an agent, and pays for it. If the purchased property has recently passed through the purchase and sale process, it makes sense to contact the same notary who conducted the last transaction and keeps the package of documents in the archive.
If a citizen of another country is involved in the transaction, the contract must specify the translator. The cost of professional translation starts from approximately €50 per hour. The contract is signed only in Greek, so the translator must explain all the terms of the transaction to the client.
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Optionally, you can issue a power of attorney for a local lawyer. In this case, neither the presence of an interpreter or a buyer is not necessary on the transaction.
0.6% of the property's value is charged for an entry in the Land Cadaster and a contribution to the Legal Fund. These costs are usually included in the fee of the notary, who is responsible for the purchase procedure and its legitimacy.
Real estate must be sole without utility debts. Re-registration of utility bills to the new owner is handled either by the buyer themselves or by a trusted person.
The cost of re-registration is the amount of the deposit to each instance. The company that provides the utility services takes a deposit of between €50 and €150. But you don’t need a pawn, if you enable payments via a bank account (a common practice among private companies). You can sign a contract for the supply of electricity and gas with private organizations. The only resource that a state-owned company has a monopoly on in Greece is water.
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Electricity bills can be re-issued, for example, either by the state-owned energy supply company DEI or by private companies.
In the first case, the applicant cannot avoid long waits and queues. When applying to private companies (Protergia, Zenit, etc.), registration takes place without queues, and the deposit amount is several times less than that of a state-owned company. The connection is made in seven to ten business days.
The apartment in Thessaloniki is fully furnished in 2020, there is no other fee for furniture, it is included in the original price. If you need to re-furnish a 2-bedroom apartment, you will need about €5,000 or more (depending on the preferences of the new owner).
You can open an account in a Greek bank to make a transaction payment, but it is not obligatory. Cashless payments are accepted from both Greek and foreign accounts.
A local account is better for utilities payments. Foreigners usually make a deposit in a Greek bank for free, but the conditions in different organizations vary.
The cost of maintaining a property depends on how long the owner (or tenant) lives in the apartment annually. Let’s assume that the new owner and his or her spouse live in this apartment all year round.
The annual property tax (ENFIA) consists of the main and additional parts. The basic rate varies from €0.001 to €13 per sq.m. Area, date of construction, cadastral value are the factors affect the coefficients when calculating the tax. The amount to be paid is calculated in August, after which all property owners receive notifications from the tax service.
In our case, the annual tax will be about €250 (approximately €5.5 per sq.m), the exact amount will depend on the taxpayer's financial condition.
If the owner plans to rent an apartment, it is better to buy an insurance. In other cases, these expenses are optional. The minimum amount is €60 per year.
The cost of maintaining public areas will be approximately €15 per month. This amount includes cleaning the entrance and its power supply, garbage collection, maintenance of the intercom and elevator, painting the facade, roof repairs, and so on. Contributions are collected once a month or every two months by the management company. In most cases, you can also pay utility bills online. In total, this will cost the new apartment owner about €180 per year.
A month for a family of two, spending on utilities and communications is low: €40 for electricity, €5 for water, and another €20 for phone and Internet.
The selected facility does not have gas connections, but hypothetically it would cost €30 per month. You can pay for all services online on the company's website or link them to an account in a Greek bank and activate auto payments.
Additionally, you can pay for property management expenses, but only if you don’t want to do it yourself.
If the property is leased for a long-term period, it is usually not necessary to manage the property. If it is leased in the short term (Airbnb), then the expenses are determined by the management company. The minimum cost of such services is 10% of the monthly income.
For example, if you take the minimum yield of 3.0% per annum, then 0.3% will have to be given to the management company. In our case, the income will be €2,700, and €300 must be paid for the management services.
| Purchase expenses | |
|---|---|
| Property price | €100,000 |
| Realtor's fee | €1,240 |
| Lawyer's fee | €1,000 |
| Notary's fee | €1,000 |
| Translator's fee | €50 |
| Property purchase tax | €3,090 |
| Adding real estate to the Land Registry | €600 |
| Local bank account | €0 |
| Connecting utility services | €100 |
| Furnishing | €0 |
| Total amount €107,080 | |
| Maintenance expenses | |
|---|---|
| Annual property tax | €250 |
| Insurance | €60 |
| Condominium fee | €180 |
| Utilities | €770 |
| Management | €300 |
| Total amount €1,560 | |
