The party is over in Greece. The country, which in recent years has become a preferred destination for Israelis seeking real estate investments at reasonable prices and with attractive yields, is about to become far less appealing.
In early September, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced his intention to raise the purchase tax for citizens of non-European Union countries from 3% to 15%, a fivefold increase. In a speech announcing the move, he explicitly mentioned Israeli investors, alongside Chinese and Turkish buyers, as having contributed to rising apartment prices in the country and making it harder for Greeks to purchase homes of their own.
An Israeli buying an apartment in Athens for €150,000 currently pays a purchase tax of €4,500, which will jump to €22,500 after the change. For a €300,000 apartment, the tax will soar from €9,000 to €45,000, an additional €36,000. Anyone purchasing a residential property for €800,000 will pay €120,000 in tax, instead of the current €24,000.
These are significant sums that could turn deals once considered worthwhile into far less lucrative ventures. These calculations do not include municipal tax additions and other purchase expenses.
The change is expected to take effect in July 2027
In the past, buyers could purchase a property in Greece for €250,000 and receive a Golden Visa, which grants a renewable residency permit in the country. However, foreign investors flooded the market, driving up apartment prices and rents. Greeks, who found it increasingly difficult to find housing at prices they could afford, pressured the government to act.
In response, Greece began restricting real estate investments. The minimum investment threshold for receiving a Golden Visa in Athens and other high-demand areas was raised to €800,000. At the same time, restrictions were placed on registering new properties for short-term rentals in parts of Athens and Thessaloniki.
On September 5, during the Thessaloniki Economic Forum, Mitsotakis presented the plan to raise the purchase tax. The move is designed to cool demand for apartments among foreign investors while boosting state revenues from transactions that continue to take place.
According to the plan, the new tax will take effect on July 1, 2027, in about nine months. Reports in Greece already indicate that investors are rushing to close deals before that deadline to pay the lower tax. Greek Migration Ministry data for August show that 12,664 residence permits were granted to Chinese citizens under the Golden Visa program, 5,104 to Turks, 1,169 to Lebanese, 1,010 to Iranians, and 849 to Israelis.
‘Those who can complete a purchase and close it quickly should do so’
“Signs of change have been in the air for a while,” says Yaron Blum, co-owner of Yemas, a company specializing in real estate development in northern Greece. “It started with changes to the size of the visa, and the widening gap between rising real estate prices and a more moderate increase in rent prices.
“I estimate that the final purchase tax figure will ultimately be lower, but it will change the strategy for those holding assets in Greece, because when you want to sell a property and buy a new one, you will face a problem. That is one of the reasons I stopped dealing with individual properties, and we shifted to buying projects and bringing business partners into our developments. Because of the saturation point in the investment apartment sector, we have no interest in selling, but rather in always remaining buyers.”
“In recent weeks there has been great pressure in Greece around this decision,” says attorney Ilan Leibovitz, a real estate expert, former MK, and former member of the Finance Committee. “There is still no concrete bill. Initially, they spoke of an implementation target at the beginning of the year, but postponed it to the beginning of July.
“An absurd situation will arise in which an Israeli holding additional European citizenship will pay a purchase tax of 3%, while an Israeli citizen without such citizenship will pay 15% on the exact same apartment.”
The law itself has not yet been approved, and changes to the final wording remain possible. Figures in the Greek real estate industry estimate that areas outside major city centers, where there is no significant housing shortage, may be exempted.
What should buyers do?
“Those who can complete a purchase and close it quickly should do so. The obvious solution is to establish a Greek company to buy the apartment. But I do not recommend this for now, because it is impossible to know what will be included in the bill, and whether it will stipulate that if the owner is not from the European Union, the maximum purchase tax will also apply to such a company. Since July is still nine months away and a property purchase procedure in Greece takes about three months, there is still enough time to execute transactions for anyone with the capital and intent to buy real estate in Greece. Most likely, this bill will pass, because currently I do not see opposition in the Greek media to this plan.”
What is the likelihood that the Israeli government will step in?
“There is a tax treaty between Israel and Greece where, if you paid capital gains tax in Greece, you do not have to pay tax in Israel. This means there is ongoing economic dialogue between the countries, but I doubt Israel has an interest in encouraging people to invest abroad. On the other hand, my 31-year-old son has nothing to do here with half a million shekels. It isn’t even the down payment for an apartment in central Israel. In Greece, you can buy a one-and-a-half-room apartment in Athens for €150,000. There is value appreciation there as well as additional income that funds rent here and grows capital. If the law indeed takes effect, some buyers will have to find other investment destinations.”
Peleg Yariv, CEO of real estate development and investment company Palmo, said: “The intention to raise the purchase tax in Greece from 3% to 15% naturally raises questions among Israeli investors, but it is important to distinguish between a potential increase in the cost of acquiring a property and a shift in the overall real estate market trend. At this stage, this is a government announcement whose legislative process has not yet been completed, against the backdrop of upcoming elections in Greece in spring 2027, so it is too early to determine whether and in what form the measure will take effect.
“The attractiveness of the Greek real estate market does not rely on a specific tax rate, but rather on the market’s fundamentals. Property prices in the country remain relatively low compared to parallel markets in Europe, while the significant housing supply shortage continues to support demand and prices. Additionally, the Greek real estate market relies heavily on local demand, and Israeli investors represent a relatively small portion of overall activity. Therefore, in my assessment, even if the tax increase is approved, it is not expected on its own to lead to a material change in price trends or broad damage to the market.
“For the Israeli investor, it is important to remember that as long as the legislation has not changed, existing tax conditions continue to apply, and even in the event of a tax increase, its implications must be examined on a case-by-case basis for each transaction. However, various structures exist for executing real estate transactions, and tax exposure may vary depending on the identity of the buyer, the nature of the transaction, and the purchase structure.”
