New floating-rate home loans in Greece averaged 3.72% in September 2026, the Bank of Greece says. That is now only 17 basis points below the comparable euro area rate of 3.89%, down from a 47-point gap in August, according to European Central Bank data.
Both central banks published their September figures on 2 November 2026. The Greek rate rose by 33 basis points in a month, while the euro area rate barely moved. For a buyer abroad comparing a Greek loan with one at home, the Greek discount on floating-rate loans has largely gone.
The numbers
| Rate on new housing loans | August 2026 (%) | September 2026 (%) | Change (basis points) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greece, floating rate and initial fixation up to 1 year (Bank of Greece) | 3.39 | 3.72 | +33 |
| Euro area, floating rate and initial fixation up to 1 year (ECB) | 3.86 | 3.89 | +3 |
| Euro area, composite cost of borrowing for house purchase (ECB) | 3.60 | 3.62 | +2 |
| Gap: Greece below euro area, floating rate | 0.47 | 0.17 | −30 |
The August Greek figure is worked back from the 33-point rise the Bank of Greece reports. The gap and the changes in the last column are our own arithmetic from the published rates.
The two floating-rate series are defined the same way: the Bank of Greece says its floating-rate loans also include loans with an initial rate fixation of up to one year. The ECB’s composite cost of borrowing mixes all fixation periods, so it should not be set directly against the Greek floating rate.
| Euro area new housing loans by initial rate fixation, September 2026 (ECB) | Rate (%) |
|---|---|
| Floating rate and up to 1 year | 3.89 |
| Over 1 and up to 5 years | 3.63 |
| Over 5 and up to 10 years | 3.82 |
| Over 10 years | 3.44 |
In the euro area as a whole, loans fixed for over 10 years were the cheapest category in September, at 3.44%, 45 basis points below floating-rate loans.
Existing borrowers and savers
The average rate on outstanding Greek housing loans with a maturity of over five years rose by 4 basis points to 3.78% in September, the Bank of Greece says. That puts the rate on outstanding long-term housing loans slightly above the rate on new floating-rate loans.
On the other side of the balance sheet, Greek household deposits with an agreed maturity of up to one year earned 1.28% on new business, up 11 basis points. Overnight household deposits stayed at 0.03%.
Other household borrowing also became dearer. The rate on new floating-rate consumer loans with a defined maturity rose by 49 basis points to 10.38%. Across all new business, the spread between loan and deposit rates narrowed to 4.36 percentage points, the Bank of Greece says.
What is driving it
Neither release explains the monthly moves. The ECB said only that the composite cost of borrowing for house purchase “remained broadly unchanged” in September. Our report on the ECB’s October decision covers the policy rate behind both series.
What it means for buyers
A worked example shows the scale. On a €200,000 loan over 25 years, a rate of 3.39% gives a monthly payment of about €989. At 3.72% the payment is about €1,025, or roughly €36 a month more. At the euro area floating rate of 3.89% it is about €1,044. These figures assume the rate stays unchanged for the whole term, which floating rates do not.
- Golden Visa buyers. For those who borrow, the cost of a Greek floating-rate loan is now close to the euro area average.
- Rental investors. A one-month rise of 33 basis points shows how quickly payments on a floating-rate loan can change, and with them the net return on a let property.
- Second-home buyers in the euro area. Euro area loans fixed for over 10 years averaged 3.44% in September, against 3.72% for new Greek floating-rate loans.
Lenders set their own conditions, and the rate offered to a borrower abroad can differ from these averages. Our guide to Greek mortgage rates in September has the Greek figures in more detail.
How we got these numbers
Greek figures come from the Bank of Greece release “Interest rates on bank deposits and loans: September 2026”, published on 2 November 2026. They are averages for new business in the month, except the outstanding-loan rate. Euro area figures come from the ECB’s euro area bank interest rate statistics for September 2026, also published on 2 November, and for August 2026, published on 1 October. Both series can be revised. Both central banks group floating-rate loans with loans fixed for up to one year. Monthly payments use the standard annuity formula with monthly compounding.
