Ranking
Lowest property buying costs in southern Europe
Transfer tax, notary, registration and legal fees as a share of the purchase price in Spain, Portugal, Greece and Cyprus, ranked from low to high.
Buying costs are the part of a purchase that people underestimate most consistently, because they are quoted as a percentage and paid as a lump sum. Across the four countries covered here the spread runs from roughly 2.5 percent to 13 percent, which on a EUR 250,000 home is a difference of about EUR 26,000 between the cheapest and the most expensive outcome.
The ordering is driven almost entirely by one line, the transfer tax. Cyprus effectively halves its Land Registry fees and has no notary at all, Greece charges a flat 3.09 percent everywhere, and Spain charges 6 to 10 percent depending on which region you buy in. Portugal sits in between and is about to move, because from 1 September 2026 non-resident buyers pay a flat 7.5 percent IMT rather than the progressive resident scale.
Why each country sits where it does
1. Cyprus 2.5-6%
Cyprus is first for a structural reason rather than a generous rate: it has no notary. As a common-law jurisdiction the lawyer drafts and lodges the contract, so an entire cost line that every other country here charges simply does not exist. Stamp duty on the sale contract was abolished for contracts signed from 1 January 2026, and the Land Registry applies a permanent 50 percent reduction to its transfer fees, bringing the bands to an effective 1.5, 2.5 and 4 percent. On a new build where VAT was paid instead, the transfer fee falls away entirely.
2. Greece 5.5-8%
Greece is second on the strength of one number: a flat 3.09 percent transfer tax, everywhere, with no regional variation to check. It loses ground on the professional fees, where notary costs of 0.8 to 1.6 percent and registration of 0.5 to 0.8 percent are the highest here in percentage terms. The net result is still comfortably cheaper than either Iberian market, and while the VAT suspension on new builds runs to 31 December 2026, a qualifying new build pays the same 3.09 percent rather than 24 percent VAT.
3. Portugal 3-11%
Portugal's range is the widest on the list, 3 to 11 percent, and which end you land on now depends on who you are rather than what you buy. Residents pay progressive IMT starting at zero. From 1 September 2026, under Decreto-Lei 97/2026, non-resident buyers pay a flat 7.5 percent, which puts them near the top of the range. The surcharge is refundable if you become a Portuguese tax resident within two years, or if you commit the property to a moderate-rent lease. Notary and registration are genuinely cheap, roughly EUR 375 to 700 through the Casa Pronta one-stop service.
4. Spain 8-13%
Spain is last and the reason is entirely regional transfer tax. ITP on a resale runs 6 to 10 percent depending on the autonomous community, from 6 percent in Madrid and 7 percent in Andalusia to 10 percent in Cantabria and Galicia, with Catalonia progressive to 11 percent and a 13 percent top bracket in the Balearics. Everything else is modest: notary fees are regulated at roughly 0.2 to 0.5 percent, registration 0.1 to 0.25 percent, and an independent lawyer 1 to 1.5 percent. Where you buy in Spain matters more to your bill than what you buy.
Methodology, and what this ranking does not say
- Sorted by
- The midpoint of each country's total buying-cost range, from low to high.
- As of
- Country records last checked August 2026.
- The ranges are for resale property bought by a private individual. New builds are taxed differently in every one of these countries: VAT plus stamp duty in Spain, VAT instead of transfer fees in Cyprus, and a suspended VAT regime in Greece that runs to 31 December 2026.
- Agent commission is not included, because in most of these markets the seller pays it. Mortgage arrangement costs and valuation fees are not included either.
- Portugal's figure spans the resident and non-resident scales. From 1 September 2026 a non-resident buyer pays a flat 7.5 percent IMT, which sits near the top of the Portuguese range rather than the bottom.
- Spanish transfer tax is set per region and a few regions exceed the range shown. Catalonia is progressive to 11 percent and the Balearics have a 13 percent top bracket.
- A low transaction cost says nothing about the cost of owning the property afterwards. Cyprus is cheapest to buy and also cheapest to hold; Greece is cheap to buy and has no wealth tax; Spain is expensive on both counts.
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