Why buy property in Greece: the case in numbers

By Shimi Limor, property advisor in Athens · Updated 20 October 2026

Sources: Bank of Greece. Price change compounded from the Bank of Greece annual averages, 2018 to 2025.

One of the most visited countries in Europe

Greece received 37.98 million international visitors in 2025, 5.6% more than in 2024, and travel receipts reached a record €23.6 billion, according to the Bank of Greece. The figures do not include cruise passengers. The growth continued into 2026, with travel receipts up 12% in the first seven months of the year.

For a property buyer, tourism matters less as a source of rent and more as a sign of what the country offers. Millions of people come back every year for the same reasons people choose to live here. It also keeps Athens and the islands well connected by air to Europe, the Middle East and beyond.

A Golden Visa property cannot be rented short-term, so the demand that matters for your property is from people who live in Greece all year. That is why the choice of the property counts more than the tourist numbers.

An economy that recovered

Ten years ago Greece was still in a deep crisis. Today the picture is different:

• Steady growth. The economy grew 2.1% in 2024 and 2.1% in 2025, and the Bank of Greece expects about 2% in 2026. In the second quarter of 2026 Greece grew 1.9% year on year, against 1.2% for the euro area.
• Investment grade. Greece regained investment grade from S&P and Fitch in 2023 and from Moody's in March 2025, more than a decade after the crisis pushed it below.
• Foreign investment. Foreign direct investment inflows reached €11.9 billion in 2025, almost double the €6.3 billion of 2024.

Apartment prices over ten years

Greek apartment prices fell for almost a decade after 2008 and reached their low in 2017. Since then they have risen every year. The chart shows the yearly change in the Bank of Greece index of apartment prices for the whole country.

Two facts give the chart its context. First, the rise started from a very low base: according to Bank of Greece economists, the index only passed its 2008 peak at the end of 2024, in nominal terms, without adjusting for inflation. Second, growth is slowing. In the second quarter of 2026 prices were 5.5% higher than a year earlier, down from 8.1% a year before.

Past prices do not predict future ones, and the average for the country hides large differences between areas and between buildings. Two apartments in the same street can perform very differently, which is why the building and the apartment matter as much as the area.

Quality of life

• Climate and sea. Long, sunny summers, mild winters and a coastline that is never far from home.
• Culture and food. Three thousand years of history in everyday surroundings, and a way of eating that people come here for.
• Part of Europe. Greece is a member of the European Union, the euro area and the Schengen area, with EU standards of property law.
• Connected. Athens is a short flight from most of Europe and the Middle East.
• Pace of life. A city with the services of a European capital, and a pace of life that people who move here often describe as the main reason they stay.

Why property is the route to the Golden Visa

The Golden Visa gives non-EU buyers a five-year residence permit for the whole family, renewable while they own the property, with no minimum stay in Greece. Other investment routes exist, but property is the one most families choose, for a simple reason: the money goes into a home they own and can use, not into a fund or a deposit.

The minimum depends on the area: €800,000 in Attica, the Thessaloniki area and the most popular islands, €400,000 in most of the rest of the country, and €250,000 for converted commercial buildings and restored listed buildings. The rules are in the property requirements guide and the zones guide.

Common questions

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