The asking price is the number you negotiate. It is not the number that leaves your account. Between the two sit transfer tax, notary fees, registry fees and legal costs, and across Southern Europe the difference between the cheapest and most expensive country is large enough to change which purchase makes sense.
Here is the shape of it. Every figure is a range, because most of these costs are set regionally or scale with the property.
Greece: roughly 4 to 5%
The lightest of the four.
- Transfer tax: 3% of the higher of the purchase price or the objective (assessed) value, plus a 0.09% municipal surcharge, so 3.09% in practice.
- Notary: about 0.8 to 1% of value, plus 24% VAT on the fee, which works out near 1% all in.
- Land registry: about 0.5%.
- Legal fees on top, typically around 1%.
Primary-residence relief exists with tax-free thresholds, but it is aimed at residents rather than at foreign buyers of a second home.
Portugal: roughly 8 to 9% for a non-resident
The most changed of the four, and the change went one way.
