Objective value and market price in Greece: the two numbers on every property deal, and why the gap matters
Every Greek property has a state-set 'objective value' as well as a price, and the transfer tax is charged on whichever is higher. How the zone system works, why it has been frozen since 2022, how far behind the market it runs in tourist areas, what the Council of State said in 2025 about a price far below it, and how to look up a plot's zone yourself.
Every property deal in Greece has two numbers. One is the price — what you and the seller agree. The other is the objective value — a figure the state calculates from a price per square metre for the zone and coefficients for the building. The transfer tax is charged on whichever is higher, which is why the objective value matters even when nobody mentions it. For most of Crete in 2026 it matters in one direction: the zone prices were last set in 2021, took effect in 2022 and have been frozen since, while the market has kept rising. So in popular areas the objective value is a floor far below the price, and the tax falls on the price. Rules and figures as they stood in September 2026, checked against the law, the tax authority, the Council of State, the Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Greece and Greek reporting.
I am not an accountant or a lawyer and this is not tax or legal advice. The objective value of a specific property depends on coefficients an engineer or notary will calculate, and the tax consequences of a deal should be checked by an accountant.
Objective value in one minute. Under article 41 of law 1249/1982, a property’s taxable value comes from zone prices and coefficients; if the deed price is higher, tax is charged on the price. Transfer tax is 3% plus a 3% municipal surcharge on the tax. The system also sets inheritance and gift tax and ENFIA. The last revision took effect on 1 January 2022 (zones up from 10,165 to 13,808, average +8%) and values are frozen until the second half of 2027. The gap to market prices reaches 40% or more in tourist areas, by Greek reporting; I found no reliable Crete figure. The Council of State (2086/2025) held that the buyer’s funds are judged on what was provably paid. Look up zones at valuemaps.gov.gr.
How the system works
Article 41 of law 1249/1982 sets the taxable value of a property from preset prices by zone, adjusted by coefficients for its type and features — floor, age, frontage, size and the like. That calculated figure is the objective value. If the price in the deed is higher, the tax is charged on the price. The transfer tax is 3%, paid by the buyer, with a municipal surcharge of 3% on the tax, which makes about 3.09% in all; first homes for Greek tax residents have an exemption of €200,000–275,000 plus an amount per child. The objective value also sets inheritance and gift tax and ENFIA, the annual property tax, so it follows a property long after the purchase. The whole purchase bill is set out in what buying in Crete really costs.
A system frozen since 2022
The last general revision was decided in May 2021 and took effect on 1 January 2022. It raised the number of zones from 10,165 to 13,808 and extended coverage from 85% to 98% of the population. More than half of the zones went up, by an average of 19.5%; about a fifth went down; the overall average was +8%. The Ministry of Finance lists no general revision since. September 2026 reporting says values are frozen until the second half of 2027, and that the next revision will bring more than 2,100 areas — “from Crete to Evros” — into the system for the first time.
In Crete, the 2022 revision produced zone prices of €1,000–2,250 per m² in central Heraklion, €600–2,000 in Chersonissos and €600–1,600 in Malia, according to Cretan reporting at the time. Meanwhile the Bank of Greece’s residential price index, built from banks’ own valuations, rose 5.7% year on year in the first quarter of 2026 alone. For what the market actually charges, see what property costs in Crete.
How big the gap is
Greek reporting in 2025 put the gap between market prices and objective values at 40% or more in many parts of Athens and in tourist zones; for Crete I found no reliable figure. The practical effect for a buyer in a popular area is simple: the objective value sits well below the price, so the transfer tax is charged on the price, and the objective value becomes irrelevant to the purchase — though it still sets your ENFIA and, one day, your heirs’ inheritance tax.
In less sought-after villages the relationship can reverse. An old house with a large plot may carry an objective value close to, or above, what anyone will pay for it, and then the tax is charged on the objective value.
When the price is below it
Declaring a lower price does not lower the transfer tax: it is charged on the objective value regardless. It does matter for a different test — the purchase presumption, under which the tax office asks a buyer to show where the money came from. In decision 2086/2025, the Council of State held that what counts for that purpose is the amount provably paid, in a case where the objective value was €331,403 and the price €56,000. The rule cuts both ways: bank records showing more money than the deed are just as open to question. Since December 2023 the whole price must move through a bank, so the real figure is on paper either way; see paying for a house in Greece.
How to look it up
The zone and its price per square metre can be found on the government’s interactive map, valuemaps.gov.gr, which needs no login. The full calculation for a specific property, with its coefficients, comes from the tax authority’s calculation sheets through a TAXISnet login — which the authority describes as informative only — or from the engineer or notary preparing the deed. Banks value a property separately, through certified valuers listed in a public register, for mortgage purposes.
The honest downside
The objective value is a blunt instrument: zone prices set in 2021, frozen until at least late 2027, applied through coefficients that do not see the view, the condition of the roof or the road to the plot. It makes the transfer tax predictable in popular areas and occasionally punishing in unpopular ones. And the 2027 revision, whenever it comes, will raise ENFIA and inheritance tax on properties bought today — a cost that appears in no purchase calculation.
Disclosure: Honest Crete does not sell or list property. Enquiries sent from this section go to a licensed estate agent, not to us; the full statement is below. Nothing in this article names a developer, a property, an accountant, a valuer or any other professional, and it never will.
Worth it if the deed states the real price, you know the objective value from the notary or engineer, and your budget allows for ENFIA rising after the next revision. Skip it if anyone suggests declaring a lower price to save tax — it does not lower the transfer tax, and the bank trail will show the truth.
What is objective value in Greece?
Objective value (αντικειμενική αξία) is a state-set value for a property, calculated from a price per square metre for the zone it sits in and coefficients for its type, age, floor and other features, under article 41 of law 1249/1982. It is the minimum on which transfer tax is charged, and it also sets inheritance and gift tax and ENFIA.
Is Greek transfer tax charged on the price or the objective value?
On whichever is higher. Article 41 of law 1249/1982 sets the taxable value from the objective value, but where the price in the deed is higher, the tax is charged on the price. The transfer tax is 3%, paid by the buyer, with a municipal surcharge of 3% on the tax.
What happens if the price is below the objective value in Greece?
The transfer tax is still charged on the objective value. For the separate question of how much the buyer must show they could afford — the tax office's purchase presumption — the Council of State held in decision 2086/2025 that what counts is the amount provably paid, in a case where the objective value was €331,403 and the price €56,000.
How far is objective value below market prices in Crete?
I could not find reliable figures for Crete. Greek reporting puts the gap at 40% or more in many Athens areas and tourist zones. The zone prices themselves date from the 2021 revision, in force since January 2022 — for example €600–2,000 per m² in Chersonissos — while bank-valuation data show prices rising every year since.
When will Greek objective values be updated?
Not before the second half of 2027, according to September 2026 reporting. The last general revision took effect on 1 January 2022, raising the number of zones from 10,165 to 13,808. The next is expected to bring more than 2,100 areas into the system for the first time, including in Crete.
How can I find the objective value of a property in Greece?
The zone and its price per square metre can be found on the government's interactive map at valuemaps.gov.gr, which needs no login. The full calculation for a specific property, applying its coefficients, is produced through the tax authority's calculation sheets with a TAXISnet login, or by an engineer or notary; the tax authority describes its online sheets as informative only.
One email a month, only when something here actually changes — including the rules that matter if you own, or plan to. No spam, no partners, one-click unsubscribe. Read past issues before you decide.