Buying property in Spain vs Greece

Spain and Greece draw many of the same cross-border buyers, and the question of which one is cheaper to actually transact in has a data answer. This page puts the two side by side using the reviewed figures behind our full Spain and Greece country guides: what the buyer pays at closing, which taxes apply and who pays them, who signs off on the deal, and what it costs to sell again later.

The machinery differs less than the bill does. The professional in charge in Spain: Notary (notario), with the deal recorded at the Registro de la Propiedad (Land Registry). In Greece: Civil-law notary (symvolaiografos), recorded at the Hellenic Cadastre (Ktimatologio). Both systems exist to make a sale between strangers safe and final, including foreign ones.

Side by side

How do Spain and Greece compare on transaction costs?

Commission figures last reviewed June 6, 2026; closing-cost figures are reviewed with each country guide. Where a figure is missing we point to the country guide rather than guess. The full commission table covers every country we track.
Cost or rule	Spain	Greece
Buyer-side closing costs	About 8% of the price	About 5% of the price
Typical agent commission	3 to 5%	2 to 4%
Who oversees the transfer	Notary (notario)	Civil-law notary (symvolaiografos)
Land registry	Registro de la Propiedad (Land Registry)	Hellenic Cadastre (Ktimatologio)
Main purchase taxes	Property Transfer Tax (Impuesto de Transmisiones Patrimoniales, ITP), paid by the buyer Municipal land-value tax (Plusvalia Municipal, IIVTNU), paid by the seller	Property transfer tax plus municipal surcharge (Foros Metavivasis Akiniton) Cadastre and land-registry registration fees
Currency	EUR (€)	EUR (€)

Behind the figures

What do the numbers mean?

The buyer-side figure bundles the transfer tax, the notary or registration fees, and the filing costs into one reviewed percentage per market. It is a typical figure, not a quote: each country's own rules move it up or down, and the notes from our dataset spell out how.

Spain: Buyers in Spain pay ~6-10% ITP (property transfer tax, varies by autonomous community) plus statutory notary fees (typically 600-1,200 EUR for homes 100,000-500,000 EUR); 8% used as regional midpoint. Sellers pay plusvalia municipal (land-value tax, varies by municipality, max 30% but on land-value gain only) and capital gains tax on profit only, not a fixed % of price-no typical % derivable.
Greece: Buyers in Greece pay ~3.09% transfer tax plus ~0.5% registry and ~1.5% notary with VAT, totaling ~5% closing costs; sellers typically bear no transaction costs beyond optional agent commission.

Because both markets price in EUR, the percentages translate directly. On a €200,000 home, buyer-side closing costs come to about €16,000 in Spain and about €10,000 in Greece, a difference of roughly €6,000 before anyone negotiates anything.

Closing costs are half the answer. Asking prices differ too, and our house prices by country table puts both markets on the same footing there.

Selling later

What happens when you sell in Spain or Greece?

The market you buy into is also the market you will one day sell in, and the exit cost is mostly the agent. Commission typically runs 3 to 5% of the price in Spain and 2 to 4% in Greece. On a €200,000 sale that is roughly €6,000 to €10,000 in Spain and €4,000 to €8,000 in Greece. The commission table shows how both compare with every other market we track.

Commission is negotiable in both countries, and owners can sell without an agent in either, which keeps the exit cost in your hands rather than baked into the market. Our roundup of the best FSBO sites in Spain shows where owners list there. For the other side, see the best FSBO sites in Greece.

The verdict

Which is the better market to buy in, Spain or Greece?

Both countries tax the buyer on an administrative floor value rather than on the price alone, Spain on the higher of the price or the valor de referencia and Greece on the higher of the price or the objective value, so negotiating the price down does not shrink the tax bill in either. What actually differs is the pre-deed file: in Greece a civil engineer has to issue the Electronic Building Identity and the seller has to produce two separate AADE clearances before the notary can execute the deed, while a Spanish notario works from the title deed, the nota simple, and the community-of-owners certificate.

Neither answer replaces the full picture. The Spain and Greece country guides cover the transfer professional, the registry, and the taxes in detail, and our buying abroad guide walks through financing, money transfer, and remote purchases for any market.

Official sources for the visa and eligibility claims on this page

Common questions about buying in Spain vs Greece

Is it cheaper to buy a house in Spain or Greece?

Measured by buyer-side closing costs, Greece: on our reviewed figures the buyer's side of the transaction runs about 5 percent of the price there against about 8 percent in Spain. The Greek figure assumes the 3.09 percent transfer tax regime, and it moves in both directions: a first-home exemption can erase the transfer tax entirely for a buyer who settles in Greece, while a new build would fall under 24 percent VAT if the current suspension lapses after December 31, 2026. Purchase prices are a separate question.

Who oversees the property transfer in Spain and Greece?

In Spain: Notary (notario), with the transfer recorded at the Registro de la Propiedad (Land Registry). In Greece: Civil-law notary (symvolaiografos), with the transfer recorded at the Hellenic Cadastre (Ktimatologio). In both countries the oversight comes with the transfer itself, so it applies whether or not an agent introduced the parties.

What are the main purchase taxes in Spain and Greece?

The headline purchase tax in Spain is the Property Transfer Tax (Impuesto de Transmisiones Patrimoniales, ITP), paid by the buyer. In Greece it is the Property transfer tax plus municipal surcharge (Foros Metavivasis Akiniton). Each country guide covers the full list, including the smaller registry and filing charges.

What does it cost to sell a home later in Spain or Greece?

Agent commission typically runs 3 to 5% of the price in Spain and 2 to 4% in Greece, and commission is negotiable in both markets. Owners can also sell without an agent in either country, which turns the commission into a choice rather than a fixed exit cost.

Does buying property in Spain or Greece still lead to residency?

Only in Greece, and the price of entry is high. Spain abolished its investor visa in April 2025, so a Spanish purchase now has no effect on your immigration position at all. Greece still grants a permanent investor residence permit for a property purchase, but the 2024 overhaul repriced it: 800,000 euros across Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, and islands with more than 3,100 inhabitants, 400,000 euros elsewhere, both with a minimum property size of 120 square meters, and 250,000 euros for a single property converted from commercial to residential use, where the size floor does not apply. A home bought under the program cannot be used for short-term rentals, which rules out the holiday-let plan many buyers assume comes with it.

Can a buyer escape the purchase tax on a first home in Spain or Greece?

In Greece, yes, under conditions. AADE grants a first-home exemption from the 3 percent transfer tax on value up to 200,000 euros for an unmarried buyer and 250,000 euros for a married one, rising by 25,000 euros for each of the first two children and by 30,000 euros for each child after that. It is open to Greek, EU, and EEA nationals and to certain long-term residents, and it requires you to live in Greece already or to settle there within two years; miss that deadline and the tax becomes payable retroactively. Spain has no national equivalent. ITP is a regional tax, and what changes across the autonomous communities is the rate itself, roughly 6 percent in Madrid to 10 percent in Catalonia, rather than a tax-free threshold.