What does it actually cost to sell a property in Greece?

What the seller pays, line by line

The agency fee is the largest item. Greek market practice is a fee on each side of the transaction, commonly around 2% plus VAT from the seller and the same from the buyer — which is why the headline percentage you are quoted matters less than knowing which side it applies to. On a prestige property the fee is negotiable and should be set against what is actually delivered: photography, film, written material, international distribution and a qualified buyer, not a listing upload.

Two technical documents are mandatory and both fall on the seller. The civil engineer's certificate (the electronic building identity, or E-ID) confirms that what is built matches what was permitted — broadly 700 to 1,000 euros, more where there are unpermitted works to regularise, and that regularisation is the single most common cause of a delayed Greek closing. The energy performance certificate (PEA) is required for almost all buildings and runs broadly 100 to 300 euros.

Then come the clearances, which cost little but gate the signature: the municipal TAP certificate confirming municipal charges are paid, the ENFIA certificate showing the property was properly declared for the previous five years, and tax and social-security clearance for you personally. None of these is expensive; all of them take time, and a missing one stops a notary appointment dead.

What the buyer pays — and why it matters to you

The figure most often quoted for Greek property is the 3.09% transfer tax. That is the buyer's, not yours, as are the notary's fee and cadastral registration. It matters to you for one reason: it is part of the buyer's total acquisition cost, so it sits inside the number they are mentally comparing against your asking price. A buyer who has budgeted the full stack negotiates differently from one who discovers it late.

This is also why a well-prepared file is worth money rather than just time. When the engineer's certificate, the energy certificate and the clearances already exist at the moment an offer arrives, the buyer sees a transaction that can close. When they do not, the buyer prices the uncertainty — and they price it against you.

Capital gains: currently 0%, conditionally

Greece legislated a 15% capital gains tax on real estate sales by individuals, and that tax has been repeatedly suspended — the current suspension runs to 31 December 2026. For a genuine private seller, the effective rate today is therefore 0%. The condition matters: selling three or more properties within a two-year window can lead the tax authority to reclassify the activity as a business, taxed on the progressive 9-44% scale instead. We set this out in full in our dedicated page on the suspension.

Because the suspension is time-limited and has been extended year by year, timing a sale purely around it is a bet on legislation. It is a reason to be aware of the calendar, not a reason to rush a prestige asset onto the market badly prepared — a rushed sale costs more than the tax it is trying to avoid.