While the contribution of the real estate sector may remain critical in terms of its share of total FDI in the country, nevertheless, the seventh year has been accompanied by a double-digit decline, with the market seeking a new equilibrium point following changes to the ”Golden Visa” program for granting residence permits to third-party investors.

Based on data from the Bank of Greece, in the first nine months of 2025, net receipts from foreign direct investment for the real estate market stood at €1.466 billion, a 23.9% decrease compared to the corresponding level of receipts in the January-September period of 2024. At that time, the corresponding figure was slightly lower at €2 billion – specifically, €1.926 billion – following the high volume recorded the previous year, as investors rushed to catch up with Golden Visa and short-term leasing restrictions.

In fact, the BoE itself, in its interim report published yesterday, notes this fact and, as noted, “despite the increase in apartment values. As the CBE also notes, foreign investment interest compared to last year is recorded as slightly more subdued according to the most recently published data on the Golden Visa program, as well as net receipts from foreign direct investment for property purchases and sales. At the same time, foreign investors who are now choosing to position themselves in the Greek market are clearly displaying a more long-term strategy, abandoning the decidedly more speculative nature that characterized earlier periods.

“According to the Golden Visa program data (October 2025), applications (issued and pending residence permits) in the 10 months of 2025 decreased to 6,205, compared to 7,028 applications in the corresponding period of 2024, marking a decline, on an annual basis, of 11.7%,” the CBE noted in the interim report, with November continuing to decline. In the eleven months to 2025, Golden Visa permanent investor permit applications (initial grants and renewals) based on data from the relevant ministry reached 6,614, and for November alone, were at 377, down from 481 requests in October and 413 requests in September. After August (309 requests), November was the worst month of the year this year.