Greek apartment prices rose 5.5% a year in the second quarter of 2026, down from an 8.3% average in 2025, according to the Bank of Greece (the central bank). Areas outside Athens and Thessaloniki, and new flats, are now rising fastest.
The breakdown comes from the Bank of Greece residential price index, and its Note on the Greek Economy of 23 October 2026 adds investment, permit and credit data. Together they show a market still rising, but more slowly and more evenly than last year.
The numbers
| Apartment prices, annual change | 2025 average (%) | Q2 2026 (%) |
|---|---|---|
| All Greece | 8.3 | 5.5 |
| Athens | 6.6 | 5.0 |
| Thessaloniki | 9.7 | 4.7 |
| Other cities | 10.3 | 5.4 |
| Other areas | 9.6 | 7.1 |
| New flats (up to 5 years old) | 7.8 | 6.2 |
| Older flats (over 5 years) | 8.6 | 5.0 |
Price growth slowed in every area. The sharpest slowdown was in Thessaloniki, where the annual rise fell from 9.7% in 2025 to 4.7%, below Athens at 5.0%.
Other areas of Greece, outside the main cities, led in the second quarter at 7.1%. In 2025 older flats rose faster than new ones; in the second quarter of 2026 the order reversed, with new flats up 6.2% and older flats 5.0%.
Over the first half of 2026, apartment prices rose 6.0%, against 7.8% in the first half of 2025, the Note says. The second-quarter figures are provisional.
Investment, permits and credit
| Indicator | Latest figure | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Residential investment, annual change | +8.1% | Q2 2026 |
| Residential investment, share of GDP | 3.0% | Q2 2026 |
| Building permits by volume, annual change | +31.6% | January–June 2026 |
| New floating-rate housing loans, average rate | 3.39% | August 2026 |
| Consumer price inflation (HICP) | 5.1% | September 2026 |
Residential investment rose 8.1% a year in the second quarter and stood at 3.0% of GDP, according to the Note, which uses seasonally adjusted ELSTAT data at constant prices.
The volume of building permits rose 31.6% a year in January–June 2026, which the Bank of Greece attributes mainly to base effects after a fall in 2025.
The average rate on new floating-rate housing loans fell 14 basis points to 3.39% in August 2026, the Bank of Greece’s interest rate release shows. September rates are due on 2 November 2026.
Commercial property
The Note also reports prime commercial property data for the second half of 2025. Prime office prices rose 5.1% a year and prime retail prices 4.7%.
Office rents rose 1.9% and retail rents 3.8% a year. Prime office yields ranged from 5.6% to 6.6% in the Athens central business district, and prime retail yields from 5.2% to 6.0% on Ermou Street in Athens.
Total construction investment rose 12.6% a year in the second quarter of 2026, mainly because of investment in other construction rather than housing, the Note says.
What is driving it
The Bank of Greece links the 2025 fall in building permits possibly to planning and building regulatory uncertainty and to high construction costs. The 2026 rebound in permits is mainly a base effect, it says.
Mortgage lending has started to grow again. The annual rate of change of housing loans turned positive in November 2025, for the first time since mid-2010, and has stayed slightly positive since, the Note says.
Credit to individuals as a whole grew 2.3% a year in September 2026, the Bank of Greece’s credit release shows. That release does not separate housing loans.
Inflation rose to 5.1% in September 2026 from 3.7% in August, the Note says.
What it means for buyers
Golden Visa buyers. Athens and Thessaloniki are both in areas where the Golden Visa minimum is €800,000, for a single property of at least 120 m². Apartment prices there rose 5.0% and 4.7% a year in the second quarter, below the national average of 5.5%.
Rental investors. Price growth is slowing. Our earlier prices against rents analysis of official data found rents rising faster than prices.
Second-home buyers. The fastest price growth is now outside the two main cities, at 7.1% a year in other areas. The index covers apartments only.
How we got these numbers
Price figures come from the Bank of Greece indices of residential property prices for Q2 2026, published on 15 September 2026. The index is built from property valuations that credit institutions report to the Bank of Greece. Q2 2026 figures are provisional; 2025 averages are revised.
Investment, permit, housing loan and inflation figures come from the Bank of Greece Note on the Greek Economy of 23 October 2026. Loan rates come from the Bank of Greece release for August 2026, published on 1 October 2026, and credit growth from the September 2026 release of 27 October 2026.
For how Greek prices compare with other European markets, see our Greece vs Europe price comparison.
Sources
- Bank of Greece: Indices of residential property prices, Q2 2026 (15 September 2026)
- Bank of Greece: Note on the Greek Economy (23 October 2026)
- Bank of Greece: Interest rates on bank deposits and loans, August 2026 (1 October 2026)
- Bank of Greece: Bank credit and deposits, September 2026 (27 October 2026)
