Highest Rental Yields in Greece by City: 2026 Guide

Q: What is the rental yield in Kavala?

Kavala, a northern Aegean port city, averages 3.47% gross rental yield, the lowest of the major cities tracked. Entry prices can fall under €60,000 for a two-bedroom apartment, so absolute cash exposure is minimal. Kavala appeals primarily to investors seeking diversification at low entry points rather than yield optimisation. Tourism is growing but STR infrastructure is thin compared with Crete or Athens.

Q: Do gross yields in Greece include tax?

No. Gross rental yield figures quoted for Greece, including the city averages on this page, are pre-tax, pre-expense ratios. Greek rental income tax applies at 15% on the first €12,000 annually and 35% on €12,001–€35,000. ENFIA property tax, management fees and vacancy add further drag. Typical net yields land roughly 40–55% below the gross headline. Always model net yield before making a purchase decision.

Quick answer: The highest gross rental yield areas in Greece are Kipseli and the working-class belt of northern Athens (6–7.5% LTR), Thessaloniki (5–6.5% LTR), and licensed STR locations on Crete (8–11% seasonal gross). Athens city-wide averages 5.43%, Patras 4.81%, the Athenian Riviera 4.5–5.5%, and Kavala 3.47%. All figures are gross and exclude Greek rental income tax, ENFIA and operating costs.

Disclaimer: All yield figures are indicative planning ranges based on publicly available market data (Global Property Guide Nov 2025, Investropa 2025, operator surveys). Gross yields do not reflect Greek rental income tax, ENFIA, management fees or vacancy. Tax rules and STR licensing requirements change, verify with a licensed Greek accountant and lawyer before purchase. No yield is guaranteed.

Greece Rental Yield by City: Quick Reference Table

Use this table as a starting point. The figures are indicative gross yields compiled from transaction and rental market data. Net yields after tax, management and vacancy are typically 40–55% lower.

City / Area	Gross Yield Range	Strategy	Key Driver
Kipseli, North Athens	6.0–7.5%	LTR	Working-class demand, low entry price
Thessaloniki	5.0–6.5%	LTR	Student + young professional market
Athens city-wide	5.43%	LTR	Broad urban average
Patras	4.81%	LTR	University city, stable demand
Athenian Riviera	4.5–5.5%	LTR / STR	Coastal, capital growth overlay
Crete (licensed STR)	8–11%	STR seasonal	Tourism peak, licence required
Kavala	3.47%	LTR	Low entry point, thin rental market

The table illustrates two separate yield stories: the LTR market, where Athens and Thessaloniki working-class districts lead, and the STR market, where Crete stands alone at the top of the range, subject to licensing, seasonality and significant operating costs.

Athens City Average: 5.43% Gross

Athens city-wide gross rental yield sits at 5.43% according to Global Property Guide’s November 2025 dataset, based on 2-bedroom apartments across tracked neighbourhoods. This makes Athens one of the better-performing EU capital cities for gross LTR yield, comfortably ahead of Lisbon (approximately 4.8%), Madrid (4.6%) and Paris (under 3.5%).

The 5.43% average blends together genuinely different sub-markets. Central Athens, Kolonaki, Syntagma, Exarchia, tends to trade at lower yields because prices have appreciated faster than rents. Southern coastal districts like Glyfada and Vouliagmeni deliver the capital growth story but yield compression pulls figures toward 4.5–5.5%. The number that moves the city average toward 5.43% comes from inner working-class districts to the north and west, where prices remain moderate and LTR demand is structurally strong.

Entry prices matter for this calculation. In 2025, a 55–65 sqm two-bedroom apartment in working-class inner Athens transacts at €1,200–€1,800 per sqm, roughly €70,000–€110,000 total, while monthly rents have climbed to €600–€850 driven by the general Greek housing shortage. That rent-to-price ratio is what pushes yields above 5%.

Kipseli and Northern Athens: The 6–7.5% LTR Pocket

Kipseli (also spelled Kypseli) is the clearest high-yield entry point within Athens. The neighbourhood runs north from Exarchia and is characterised by dense apartment stock built in the 1950s–1970s, a large migrant and student population, and rents that have risen sharply since 2022 as housing supply tightened across the city.

Gross LTR yield in Kipseli and adjacent streets (Patisia, Ano Patisia, Peristeri western fringe) ranges from 6.0–7.5% on small 40–70 sqm apartments. A 55 sqm flat purchased at €75,000–€90,000 rents for €550–€700 per month in 2025. At the lower end of the buy price and upper end of the rent range, gross yield approaches 7.5%.

Why does Kipseli yield more than Kolonaki? Three reasons:

Lower acquisition price. Kipseli averages €1,100–€1,500 per sqm against Kolonaki’s €3,500–€5,000 per sqm.
Sustained rental demand. The area serves students, young families and workers who cannot access more expensive central districts. Vacancy rates are low, typically 4–8% for well-maintained stock.
Limited competition from premium buyers. International buyers typically target central or coastal areas. Kipseli remains a domestic rental market, which keeps acquisition prices below the level that would compress yields.

The trade-off: Kipseli offers less capital appreciation potential than coastal or central Athens. Investors optimising for gross yield rather than price growth will find the northern Athens belt attractive; those wanting a premium holiday apartment or Golden Visa asset in a prestige location will look elsewhere.

Athenian Riviera: 4.5–5.5% With Capital Growth Upside

The Athenian Riviera, stretching south from Piraeus through Glyfada, Voula, Vouliagmeni and Varkiza, delivers gross yields of 4.5–5.5% on LTR. The range compresses relative to Kipseli because acquisition prices are substantially higher: €2,500–€4,500 per sqm in Glyfada and higher still in Vouliagmeni and Astir.

Rents on the Riviera are strong in absolute terms, €1,200–€2,500 per month for a 3-bedroom apartment is common in Glyfada, but price appreciation has outpaced rent growth, creating the familiar yield compression pattern of any affluent coastal market.

The investment case for the Riviera rests less on current yield and more on capital appreciation. The Hellinikon mega-development (formerly Athens airport site, now a €8 billion mixed-use project) is actively under construction on the Riviera corridor. Several global hotel brands are committed to the site. Analysts expect completed Hellinikon units to trade at €6,000–€9,000 per sqm. Riviera land prices have already partially front-run this expectation, which is why yields are in the 4.5–5.5% band rather than the 6–7% band of Kipseli.

For STR, the Athens centre moratorium does not technically cover the Riviera suburbs, so licensed STR remains accessible here. However, the moratorium zone is subject to extension, and investors building Riviera STR models should build in regulatory risk to the cashflow.

Thessaloniki: 5–6.5% and Greece’s Strongest LTR Market Outside Athens

Thessaloniki, Greece’s second city, offers gross LTR yields of 5–6.5% with structural advantages that Athens lacks. Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, with approximately 86,000 students across its campuses, creates year-round rental demand that is less seasonal than tourist markets and less cyclically sensitive than the broader economic climate.

The lower entry price is the key differentiator. Comparable two-bedroom apartments in Thessaloniki’s student and professional districts (Kalamaria, Toumba, ANO Poli, city centre) transact at €900–€1,600 per sqm, roughly 30–40% below equivalent Athens neighbourhoods. Monthly rents of €500–€750 on a €60,000–€90,000 apartment produce gross yields at the upper end of the 5–6.5% range.

Thessaloniki has also attracted a growing technology and services sector over the past five years. Sofitel, Marriott and several international business operators have expanded here, adding a professional rental segment alongside the student market. This breadth of demand helps maintain low vacancy.

One consideration: Thessaloniki is not a primary Golden Visa market. Most foreign investors using the Greek residency programme concentrate in Athens and Crete due to the tourist appeal and higher absolute transaction prices. Thessaloniki is primarily a pure yield play for investors comfortable with a Greek domestic market rather than an internationally marketed tourist destination.

Crete: 8–11% Gross STR: Licensed Operators Only

Crete consistently produces the highest gross STR yields of any Greek location, with licensed operators in Chania old town, the Heraklion waterfront and the Elounda / Agios Nikolaos coast reporting 8–11% gross in active operating years.

The numbers are real but require significant context before being useful in an investment model:

Season length. Crete’s STR season runs effectively from May to October, roughly 22–24 operational weeks per year. An 8–11% annual gross yield built on six months of income implies strong in-season occupancy (typically 75–90% in well-located units during peak July–August) offset by near-zero income from November to April.

Licensing requirement. Crete STR operators must hold a valid short-term rental licence from AADE (Greek tax authority). Operating without a licence exposes investors to substantial fines and potential forced deregistration. New licences in several Heraklion and Chania districts face restrictions under local zoning decisions. Verify current licence availability in your target area before making a purchase offer.

Operating costs. OTA commissions (Airbnb, Booking.com) typically run 14–19% of booking value. Professional STR management contracts add 18–25%. Cleaning, linen, pool maintenance (for villas) and seasonal restocking consume a further 8–12% of gross revenue. By the time Greek income tax (15–35% of net income) and ENFIA are added, net yield on an 8–11% gross Crete STR can land anywhere from 4–6%.

Golden Visa properties excluded. Greek Golden Visa qualifying properties are prohibited from STR under Law 5100/2024 regardless of location. Crete investors using the €400,000 Golden Visa tier cannot operate the qualifying asset as an Airbnb. Any Crete STR strategy must be structured around a property purchased outside the Golden Visa framework, or a second property held separately.

For investors with local management capability or a relationship with a credible Crete property management operator, the STR yield case is genuine. For remote investors expecting passive STR income, the operating complexity and seasonal concentration make net returns more modest than the headline gross figure suggests.

Patras: 4.81% and a University City LTR Play

Patras, Greece’s third-largest city on the Peloponnese coast, sits at 4.81% gross LTR yield. This is modestly above the national average and reflects Patras’s dual character: a busy port city and the home of the University of Patras, which enrolls approximately 30,000 students across faculties.

University-adjacent Patras neighbourhoods, particularly Psila Alonia, Rio and the area surrounding the Rio–Antirrio Bridge campus, show consistent LTR demand from students and academic staff. Entry prices are low: well-located 60 sqm apartments transact at €55,000–€80,000, and monthly rents of €350–€500 per month generate gross yields near or slightly above the 4.81% city average in the best-located stock.

Patras does not have a mature STR market comparable to Athens or Crete. Weekend tourism from Athens (roughly 3 hours by highway) and the Patras Carnival (one of Europe’s largest) generate some seasonal demand, but the infrastructure for professional STR management is limited. LTR is the dominant and most practical rental strategy for Patras investors.

Kavala: 3.47% Gross and a Low Entry-Point Story

Kavala, a northern Aegean port city near the Bulgarian border, records a gross yield of 3.47%, the lowest of the tracked markets. On a pure yield basis, Kavala is not competitive with Athens, Thessaloniki or Patras.

The investment logic for Kavala, if there is one, is entry price and diversification. A 70 sqm two-bedroom apartment in central Kavala can be acquired for €40,000–€65,000. At those prices, even a 3.47% gross yield represents a small absolute annual income, and total capital at risk is limited. Investors positioning at the bottom of the Greek market or buying a personal-use property with a yield component sometimes look at Kavala.

Tourism is growing in the Kavala region, the island of Thasos is a short ferry ride away and attracts a primarily domestic and Balkan tourist market, but STR infrastructure is thin and licence availability is easier than in Athens or Crete simply because demand for licences is lower. A Kavala STR could outperform the 3.47% LTR benchmark in season, but the absence of international tourist traffic limits upside compared with the established tourist circuits.

STR vs LTR: Which Strategy Fits Which Area

Area	Best Strategy	Why
Kipseli / North Athens	LTR	Domestic demand, no STR licensing queue, stable occupancy
Athens centre	LTR or STR (licence required)	STR moratorium limits new licences in central zones
Athenian Riviera	LTR or STR (where licensed)	Capital growth + rental, STR outside moratorium zone
Thessaloniki	LTR	Student and professional market, no tourist STR scale
Crete (tourist facing)	STR (licensed only)	Peak yields, professional management required
Patras	LTR	University demand, STR market not developed
Kavala	LTR	Thin market, entry-price play

The broad principle: LTR delivers more predictable income with lower management overhead and avoids the Golden Visa compliance risk. STR delivers higher gross yields in the right locations but concentrates income seasonally, requires a valid licence, and involves significantly higher operating costs.

Golden Visa Properties: STR is Categorically Banned

Any investor combining Golden Visa and income strategy must understand one absolute rule: the qualifying property cannot be used for short-term tourist rental at any point during the validity of the residency permit.

This prohibition is set out in Law 5100/2024 and reiterated in Circular 1/2026. It applies regardless of location, Athens, Crete or anywhere else. It covers all peer-to-peer platforms: Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, and equivalent services. Long-term residential leases of 12 months or more are fully permitted.

Investors who purchase a separate, non-qualifying property in Greece alongside their Golden Visa asset are free to operate that second property under standard STR licensing rules. The restriction is property-specific, not investor-wide. But the qualifying asset must remain in LTR or vacant, it cannot be on a rental platform.

For a full breakdown of what the law says and the enforcement mechanism, see Golden Visa Greece and the Airbnb ban.

What Compresses These Gross Yields in Practice

Every gross yield figure on this page will be reduced by the same four categories of cost. The magnitude depends on the specific property and strategy.

Greek rental income tax. The progressive rate starts at 15% on annual rental income up to €12,000 and rises to 35% on income between €12,001 and €35,000. Non-residents may face a minimum tax baseline even on lower rental incomes. Rental income from two properties held via different ownership structures is generally aggregated. Consult a licensed Greek accountant for your specific scenario.

ENFIA property tax. Greece’s annual unified real estate tax is levied on assessed (objective) property values, which are calculated by the Greek state and are typically below market value. For a €100,000 Athens apartment, ENFIA might run €80–€600 per year depending on zone, floor, age and surface area. The bill is not enormous but it is annual and non-avoidable.

Management and operating costs. LTR management fees run 8–15% of annual rent. For STR, OTA commissions plus local management contracts typically consume 25–35% of gross revenue before cleaning, maintenance and seasonal setup. Properties require maintenance budgets of approximately 1–2% of property value per year over time.

Vacancy. Even well-managed LTR properties in Athens or Thessaloniki experience 5–10% vacancy over a 12-month cycle when averaging tenant transitions, refurbishment periods and occasional gaps. STR vacancy is seasonal rather than random, Crete is essentially 100% vacant in winter, which is why the gross-to-net compression on Crete STR is proportionally larger than on Athens LTR.

After these four categories, net yield typically lands 40–55% below the gross headline across all markets tracked here.

The Greece rental yield guide contains a full expense table and a worked example you can adapt to your specific target property.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which area of Greece has the highest rental yield?

Kipseli and neighbouring working-class districts in northern Athens produce the highest long-term rental gross yields at 6–7.5%. For short-term rentals, licensed Crete operators in tourist-facing locations report gross yields of 8–11%, but that figure depends heavily on season length, OTA commissions and STR licence eligibility. No yield figure is guaranteed and all figures are gross before tax and expenses.

What is the rental yield in Athens 2026?

Athens city-wide gross rental yield averages 5.43% (Global Property Guide, Nov 2025). Working-class LTR neighbourhoods in the north, Kipseli, Patisia, Kypseli, reach 6–7.5% gross. The Athenian Riviera (Glyfada, Vouliagmeni) averages 4.5–5.5% gross with stronger capital appreciation potential. All figures are gross and do not account for Greek rental income tax, ENFIA or management fees.

What is the rental yield in Thessaloniki?

Thessaloniki gross LTR yield runs 5–6.5%, driven by strong student and young professional demand near Aristotle University. Entry prices are 30–40% lower per square metre than comparable Athens neighbourhoods, which means smaller absolute rent but competitive return on capital. These are indicative gross figures; net yields are lower once tax, management and vacancy are factored in.

What is the rental yield in Crete?

Licensed STR operators in Crete's tourist-facing locations (Chania, Heraklion waterfront, Elounda) report gross yields of 8–11%. The short operational window of roughly May to October, OTA commissions of 15–20%, professional management costs and Greek income tax mean net yields typically land in the 4–6% range. LTR on Crete averages 3.5–5.0% gross. Greek Golden Visa qualifying properties are banned from STR.

Is Patras good for rental investment?

Patras gross rental yield averages 4.81%. As Greece's third-largest city and a major student hub (University of Patras), it offers stable LTR demand and low vacancy in university-adjacent districts. Entry prices are among the lowest of any major Greek city. Patras is not a primary tourist market so STR is less relevant.

What is the rental yield in Kavala?

Kavala averages 3.47% gross rental yield, the lowest of the major cities tracked. Entry prices can fall under €60,000 for a two-bedroom apartment, so absolute capital at risk is minimal. Kavala appeals primarily to investors seeking diversification at low entry points rather than yield optimisation.

Can I do Airbnb on a Golden Visa property in Greece?

No. Law 5100/2024 explicitly prohibits short-term tourist rentals on the qualifying Golden Visa property for the duration of the residency permit. Long-term residential leases of 12 months or more are permitted on the qualifying asset. Properties owned separately from the GV qualifying asset follow standard STR licensing rules.

Do gross yields in Greece include tax?

No. Gross rental yield figures quoted for Greece are pre-tax, pre-expense ratios. Greek rental income tax applies at 15% on the first €12,000 annually and 35% on €12,001–€35,000. ENFIA, management fees and vacancy add further drag. Typical net yields land roughly 40–55% below the gross headline. Always model net yield before making a purchase decision.