As Spain moves to impose a 100% tax on property purchases by non-residents living outside the EU – potentially banning sales altogether – Greece’s Golden Visa scheme has seen a surge in popularity.
The country is now set to establish itself as a prime destination for those seeking a holiday home and a place to retire..
25 years ago, Spanish governments welcomed British property buyers because they saw the foreign investment as incredibly beneficial for the economy, particularly in popular tourist destinations like the Balearics and Malaga. However, socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has now branded these buyers as “speculators” who were out “just to make money”.
Last year, the government axed the country’s famous Golden Visa scheme, which offered non-EU citizens residency rights in exchange for a £420,000 investment, usually in property. It is set to close on April 3 this year.
Industry experts, however, have warned that the Spanish government is treating Brits and other foreign buyers as “scapegoats” and that Spain will be poorer as a result, and that Spain will “pay the price”, according to The Telegraph.
According to Mark Stücklin, founder of the website Spanish Property Insight, the targeting of non-EU non-resident buyers reflects a refusal in the Spanish government to admit the real causes of Spain’s housing crisis – a “straightforward” problem of rising demand and static or decreasing supply.
He believes that implementing the 100% tax or a total ban would be a “catastrophe” for local housing markets and economies.
“It’s scapegoating foreigners who are the only group that can’t vote in Spain. Foreign property buyers have a financial stake but no political stake, so they’re an easy target for a bully to pick on,” Mr Stücklin argued.
He added that most foreign buyers – a very small group – are buying villas by the sea and are not vying for residential property in major cities where the severe housing shortage is most prevalent.
Greece, meanwhile, is set to benefit from Spain’s woes. The 2025 Global Residence Index Program, carried out by Henley and Partners, revealed that Greece’s Golden Visa program has secured the top spot with a score of 73 out of 100.
As a result, it has toppled Portugal, which has held or shared the top spot for the past nine years and has now slipped to third alongside Italy and the UK.
“Greece offers its residents and citizens a number of reassuring benefits including high levels of safety and security, excellent education opportunities, robust healthcare options, and a dependable rule of law,” the firm wrote on its website.
According to data from the Hellenic Property and Investment Authority, published by The Greek Reporter, total property deals in Greece in 2023-2024 reached around 41.2 billion euros (£34 billion), with at least 4.4 billion euros (£3.6 billion) attributed to Golden Visa applicants – over 10% of all real estate transactions.
The number of people who applied for a Golden Visa rose to an impressive 9,289 in 2024, an increase of 9.6% from the previous year’s 8,477.
The country has also remained proactive during its own housing crisis. Before September 2024, the investment threshold in Greece was 250,000 euros (£207,000) but has risen to 800,000 euros (£662,000) in areas where housing demand is high, such as in Athens and the Greek islands.
Market observers have said that the spike reflects buyers hurrying to buy property before similar new regulations reach Greece as they spread across Europe.
