Halkidiki ranked first in Greece for international demand for homes for sale in the second quarter of 2026, Spitogatos’s holiday-home release of 24 September 2026 shows; on the islands, users abroad look first at the Cyclades and the Dodecanese, then at Chania, Corfu and Heraklion.
The numbers
Two measures are in play. Spitogatos figures measure search demand on the portal (searches and enquiries by users abroad), not completed sales. Bank of Greece figures measure capital inflows from non-residents into Greek real estate, not the number of homes bought. Spitogatos publishes a separate holiday-home release; the Bank of Greece does not count holiday homes separately, so its figures are read here alongside Golden Visa and tourism data.
Holiday-home asking prices, Q2 2026 (Spitogatos)
The Spitogatos holiday-home release for Q2 2026 (24 September 2026) covers areas near Athens, the Argosaronic islands, the Peloponnese and mainland Greece. Average asking prices (ΜΖΤ) rose in most areas examined, with small annual falls in some areas near Athens, in the Peloponnese and on Pelion.
| Area | Average asking price (ΜΖΤ), holiday homes (€/m²) | Annual change (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Spetses (Argosaronic) | 4,615 | +10 |
| Poros (Argosaronic) | 3,207 | more than +20 |
| Saronida (near Athens) | 3,200 | small fall |
| Sithonia (Halkidiki) | 3,000 | not stated |
| Kassandra (Halkidiki) | 2,895 | not stated |
| Kalamata (Peloponnese) | 2,892 | not stated |
| Aegina (Argosaronic) | 2,692 | not stated |
| Porto Rafti (near Athens) | 2,667 | +14.7 |
| Zacharo (Peloponnese) | 1,200 | not stated |
| Zagora, Pelion | 1,171 | not stated |
Users abroad searched most for detached houses, apartments and villas.
Island asking prices, Q2 2026 (Spitogatos)
| Island group / island | Average asking price (ΜΖΤ) (€/m²) | Annual change (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Aegean Islands (average) | 2,941 | +5.9 |
| Ionian Islands (average) | 2,531 | +5.9 |
| Crete (average) | 2,250 | +6.9 |
| Antiparos (Cyclades) | 7,600 | not stated |
| Mykonos (Cyclades) | 7,059 | −1 to −6 (range for Mykonos, Folegandros, Santorini, Sikinos, Andros) |
| Paros (Cyclades) | 5,263 | not stated |
| Patmos (Dodecanese) | 5,000 | not stated |
| Astypalaia (Dodecanese) | 4,000 | not stated |
| Paxoi (Ionian) | 3,846 | not stated |
| Lefkada (Ionian) | 3,302 | not stated |
| Chania (Crete) | 3,102 | not stated |
| Kalymnos (Dodecanese) | 2,759 | about +20 |
| Kefalonia (Ionian) | 2,531 | not stated |
| Rethymno (Crete) | 2,202 | not stated |
| Heraklion (Crete) | 2,200 | not stated |
| Lasithi (Crete) | 1,944 | not stated |
| Ikaria (North Aegean) | 1,846 | not stated |
| Samos (North Aegean) | 1,059 | not stated |
Spitogatos published these figures on 16 September 2026. The gap between the two island groups users abroad search most is wide. Antiparos, Mykonos and Paros ask €5,263 to €7,600 per square metre; the published Dodecanese range runs from €2,759 (Kalymnos) to €5,000 (Patmos); Crete outside Chania sits between €1,900 and €2,300, and the North Aegean below €1,900. Crete’s average asking price rose 50% in five years (Q2 2021 to Q2 2026); Leros rose more than 30% in a year. In the national Q2 2026 release (4 August 2026), the Cyclades were second for sale at €4,063 per square metre and first for rent at €14.4 per square metre a month.
Non-resident capital into Greek real estate (Bank of Greece)
| Period | 2024 (€ million) | 2025 (€ million) | 2026 (€ million) | 2026 vs 2025 (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 520.0 | 356.8 | 511.6 | +43.4 |
| Q2 | 622.1 | 581.5 | 515.8 | −11.3 |
| First half | 1,142.1 | 938.3 | 1,027.4 | +9.5 |
| Full year | 2,750.3 | 2,055.7 | – | – |
Non-residents’ direct investment in Greek real estate was €1,027.4 million in the first half of 2026, 9.5% above the first half of 2025 but 10.0% below the first half of 2024. The series fell 25.3% in 2025. The Bank of Greece does not split the figure by region or property type, so it cannot show how much went to islands or holiday homes.
Golden Visa files pending by decentralised administration, September 2026
| Decentralised administration | Pending investor files (initial applications and renewals) | Share of total (%) | Of which lodged in 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attica | 5,080 | 73.0 | 2,065 |
| Thessaly – Central Greece | 581 | 8.3 | 500 |
| Macedonia – Thrace | 553 | 7.9 | 372 |
| Peloponnese, Western Greece and Ionian | 430 | 6.2 | 235 |
| Crete | 183 | 2.6 | 142 |
| Aegean | 83 | 1.2 | 80 |
| Epirus – Western Macedonia | 52 | 0.7 | 41 |
| Total | 6,962 | 100.0 | 3,435 |
The Ministry of Migration and Asylum’s September 2026 report (Annex B, table 17) shows that the Golden Visa remains an Athens product: Attica holds 73.0% of the 6,962 pending investor files (initial applications and renewals). The island administrations are small, and most of their files were lodged in 2026: 80 of 83 in the Aegean (96.4%) and 142 of 183 in Crete (77.6%), against 40.6% in Attica. The ministry does not publish active permits by region.
Which areas users abroad target
The Spitogatos holiday-home release for Q2 2026 ranks the areas with the most international demand for homes for sale in Greece: Halkidiki first, then the Municipality of Athens, the Thessaloniki suburbs, the Southern suburbs of Athens and the Cyclades.
The islands release for Q2 2026 narrows this further. Users abroad turn mainly to the Cyclades and the Dodecanese, and also to Chania, Corfu and Heraklion. Greek users put the Cyclades first, then Heraklion, the Argosaronic islands, Chania and the Dodecanese: the two groups overlap on Crete and the Cyclades and diverge on the Dodecanese and the Argosaronic.
Who is searching
The nationality rankings point in the same direction. The holiday-home release for Q2 2026 lists the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Serbia, the Netherlands and Switzerland as countries with high demand. In the islands data for Q2 2026, search interest from users abroad ranked the United States first, then the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and France.
Visitor origin follows the same pattern. Bank of Greece travel data for January to August 2026 (released 22 October 2026) show receipts from US residents up 21.0% to €1,466.9 million, from Germany up 7.2% to €2,858.8 million and from the United Kingdom up 5.0% to €2,665.2 million; receipts from France fell 8.1% to €931.9 million. Total receipts rose 9.4% to €18,197.5 million.
Golden Visa holders are a different population, and the only ranking here that reflects completed purchases. The ministry’s September 2026 table of active investor permits by nationality is led by China (13,070 initial grants, 47.4%), Turkey (5,403, 19.6%) and Lebanon (1,187, 4.3%); the United Kingdom (839) and the United States (659) rank sixth and eighth. See our September 2026 Golden Visa tracker.
What is driving it
Two factors stand out. First, the Bank of Greece series fell 25.3% in 2025, the first full calendar year under the higher Golden Visa thresholds of Law 5100/2024 (set out below), and recovered 9.5% in the first half of 2026. Second, visitors: the Bank of Greece counts 28.5 million inbound travellers in January to August 2026, up 10.0%, and ELSTAT’s provisional August 2026 release shows 8.4 million non-resident nights in short-stay accommodation that month, 81.8% of all short-stay nights.
What it means for buyers
Holiday-home buyer
The islands with the most foreign search demand are also the most expensive. At Spitogatos asking prices, €250,000 buys about 35 m² on Mykonos (€7,059/m²), about 114 m² in Heraklion (€2,200/m²) or 135 m² on Ikaria (€1,846/m²); in Halkidiki, Sithonia and Kassandra ask €3,000 and €2,895/m² for holiday homes. Running costs and the transfer tax of 3% plus a 3% municipal surcharge on the tax (3.09% in total) are covered in our holiday homes section and the buying-cost calculator.
Rental investor
Demand abroad is strongest in the Cyclades and Dodecanese, and the Cyclades lead national rents at €14.4/m² a month (Spitogatos, Q2 2026). National short-term rental rules apply on every island; the registration freeze covers only central Athens and central Thessaloniki. See the 2026 short-term rental rules and rental income tax for owners abroad.
Golden Visa buyer
Under Law 5100/2024 the €800,000 tier covers the whole Attica Region (including the Argosaronic islands), the Thessaloniki Regional Unit, the Mykonos and Thira (Santorini) Regional Units and every island with more than 3,100 residents; the rest of the country is at €400,000, and €250,000 applies to change-of-use conversions and listed-building restorations. The €800,000 and €400,000 tiers require one property with main areas of at least 120 m². A Golden Visa home may not be let short term. A bill tabled in Parliament on 3 November 2026, not yet law, would set a 15% transfer tax on homes bought by natural persons tax resident outside the EU/EEA, for final contracts from 1 July 2027. See our report on the bill.
How we got these numbers
Spitogatos figures come from its holiday-home release for Q2 2026 (24 September 2026), its Greek islands release (16 September 2026) and its national release (4 August 2026); they are average asking prices (ΜΖΤ) on listings and user search activity, not transaction prices or sales counts. Bank of Greece figures are quarterly net flows of non-residents’ direct investment in real estate; half-year totals and percentages are our calculations. Golden Visa figures are from the Ministry of Migration and Asylum’s September 2026 Legal Migration report, Annex B, tables 12a, 16 and 17; regional shares are our calculations. Travel receipts are from the Bank of Greece release of 22 October 2026 and short-stay nights from ELSTAT’s provisional release of 20 October 2026; the non-resident share of nights is our calculation.
Sources
- Spitogatos: Εξοχικές κατοικίες στην Ελλάδα, 2ο τρίμηνο 2026, ΜΖΤ πώλησης (24 September 2026)
- Spitogatos: Ελληνικά νησιά, 2ο τρίμηνο 2026, ΜΖΤ πώλησης κατοικιών (16 September 2026)
- Spitogatos: Πωλήσεις και ενοικιάσεις κατοικιών στην Ελλάδα, 2ο τρίμηνο 2026 (4 August 2026)
- Bank of Greece: Direct investment flows, non-residents’ direct investment in Greece in real estate (quarterly table)
- Ministry of Migration and Asylum: Legal Migration report, September 2026, Annex B (tables 12a, 16, 17)
- Bank of Greece: Developments in the balance of travel services, August 2026 (22 October 2026)
- ELSTAT: Arrivals and nights spent in hotels, campsites and short-stay accommodation, August 2026, provisional (20 October 2026)
- Law 5100/2024, Article 64 (Golden Visa thresholds)
- Ministry of Migration and Asylum: circular on Law 5100/2024 Golden Visa thresholds (24 September 2024)
- Hellenic Parliament: bill tabled on 3 November 2026, Article 16 (15% transfer tax for non-EU/EEA tax residents)
Buyers should confirm how this applies to them with a Greek lawyer or accountant.
