Greece: rental yields attract European landlords

We do not publish an average rental yield or a Greek property price index: we have not found an up-to-date official series to document them, and we do not reproduce estimates from listing portals.

What can be stated concerns the method. A gross yield compares annual rent with a purchase price, without deducting charges, acquisition costs or tax.

Greek rental income falls under the ordinary scale, not under any flat-rate regime. A retiree benefiting from the regime for foreign retirees, at 7%¹ on foreign-source income, would be taxed under the standard rules on their Greek rents.

The Greek income tax scale starts at 9%² and its top marginal rate stood at 44%³ in the scale applicable until 2025.

We do not publish the specific scale applicable to rental income or the deductible charges: they do not appear in the extracts we have been able to verify, and yet they determine the net yield.

A point of method: a yield advertised by a seller is almost always gross and calculated on optimal occupancy. A landlord’s net yield takes account of vacancies, unpaid rent, maintenance and management, which together represent a significant share of the rent.

The older Greek housing stock is largely uninsulated, and energy is a significant cost. This weighs on long-term letting, where charges are often shared.

Building service charges and property tax come on top, and they should be obtained before the purchase rather than estimated.

The planning compliance of the property is a second point to watch. Construction disputes are not uncommon, and they affect value as much as the ability to let.

A property bought remotely, on the basis of photographs and an advertised yield, combines these risks. Visiting and local checks are not mere formalities.

A large part of the yield advertised on the Greek market relies on holiday letting, whose regulation has changed and continues to change.

The authorities have introduced registration obligations, restrictions in certain areas, and measures to limit the withdrawal of homes from the residential market.

We do not publish the registration conditions, the list of restricted areas or the applicable penalties: they have been amended several times and we have not been able to verify the version in force in an official Greek source.

A yield calculated on seasonal letting must therefore be checked against the regulations applicable to the property in question, neighbourhood by neighbourhood.

The raising of the residency by investment thresholds — €800,000⁴ in Attica and on the most populated islands, against from €400,000⁵ elsewhere — reflects the same intention: to curb foreign pressure on housing.

1. Recalculate the yield net of tax, charges and acquisition costs.
2. Obtain the actual building service charges and property tax before making an offer.
3. Check planning compliance and the clarity of the title.
4. Check the short-term rental regulations applicable to the property.
5. Do not confuse the residence permit obtained through investment with tax residency, which requires presence of more than more than 183 days⁶.

Finally, a Greek rental investment should be judged like any foreign property investment: net yield, real liquidity, local taxation, and zero currency risk since it is in the euro area. This last point is a real advantage, and probably the only one the advertised gross yield does not overstate.