Investing Abroad in 2026: Portugal, Spain or Greece?

Portugal, Spain or Greece in 2026? Short answer: Portugal remains the most mature market, but also the most expensive (€3,019/m² national average, €5,642/m² in Lisbon), and its two major tax advantages are gone. Spain offers depth and liquidity, but prices jumped 18.4% in one year. Greece combines the lowest entry price of the three (€2,727/m² national average, around €2,200/m² in Crete), a tax scale starting at 15% and the only real estate golden visa still open. For a French rental investor, the price, yield and tax equation leans towards Greece. The detailed figures follow.

Most comparisons published online rely on pre-2023 data. They recommend Portugal on the strength of two schemes that no longer exist: the NHR tax regime and the real estate golden visa. This comparison is built on 2025-2026 sources and on our internal database of 1,902 Airbnb listings in Crete. Where a figure is an estimate, we say so.

What has changed since 2023 (and what many guides ignore)

• Portugal: the golden visa through property purchase has been closed since 7 October 2023 (Mais Habitação law).
• Portugal: the NHR tax regime has been closed to new entrants since 1 January 2024. Its replacement, IFICI, does not cover real estate investment.
• Spain: the golden visa was abolished on 3 April 2025 (Organic Law 1/2025).
• Greece: the real estate golden visa remains open, with thresholds raised in September 2024 (€250,000 to €800,000 depending on the zone and property type).
• France-Greece: the new tax treaty applies to income from 2024 onwards. Tax credit mechanism: no double taxation for a French tax resident.

Price per m² in 2026: the comparison

National averages hide huge gaps between micro-markets, but they set the order of magnitude. Here are the most recent figures published by the major property portals.

In concrete terms: with a €250,000 budget, you buy roughly 44 m² in Lisbon, 60 m² in the province of Malaga and more than 110 m² in Crete outside the luxury areas. That surface gap translates directly into guest capacity, and therefore into potential rental income.

Rental income taxation for a French non-resident

Portugal: flat rate, no more workaround

A non-resident renting out property in Portugal is taxed at a flat rate of around 25 to 28% depending on the lease type. The end of the NHR regime closed the main optimisation route. One more point to watch: the Build Portugal bill, submitted to Parliament in December 2025, proposes a flat 7.5% IMT for all non-resident buyers, which would further raise the entry cost.

Spain: 19% on net income for an EU resident

IRNR taxes rents at 19% for an EU resident, calculated on net income: expenses, loan interest, depreciation and property tax (IBI) are deductible. Filing goes through Modelo 210. It is a legible and competitive regime. The trade-off: purchase prices are climbing fast (+18.4% in one year nationally) and regulatory pressure on tourist rentals is intensifying in the big cities and along the coasts.

Greece: a progressive scale starting at 15%

Law 5246/2025 sets the rental income scale: 15% from €0 to €12,000, 25% from €12,000 to €24,000, 35% from €24,000 to €36,000, 45% above that. The annual property tax (ENFIA) represents around 0.28% of the property value. Since 2024 income, the new Franco-Greek tax treaty applies: a tax credit on the French side, no double taxation. In all honesty: above €36,000 of annual rent, the Greek marginal rate of 45% becomes the heaviest of the three countries. The Greek scale favours properties whose rents stay under €24,000 a year, which covers the vast majority of seasonal rentals of a villa or an apartment.

Gross rental yields: orders of magnitude

• Lisbon: 5 to 6% gross on average; 3 to 5% for long-term rentals, 6 to 8% for tourist rentals (2025 estimates).
• Spain: around 4.5% in Madrid, 5 to 6% in Valencia; some secondary cities exceed 7%, sometimes 10%.
• Athens: 5 to 6% gross on average, more in certain neighbourhoods.
• Greece outside Athens: a wide 3 to 7% range depending on location and operating model.

These averages hide the essential point: the gap between micro-markets within one country is often larger than the gap between countries. That is exactly what our data on Crete shows, just below.

Golden visa: Greece is the last of the three open to real estate

Portugal closed the real estate route of its golden visa in October 2023. Spain abolished its programme on 3 April 2025. Greece kept its own while raising the thresholds: €800,000 in the most sought-after zones (Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and the populated islands, Crete included), €400,000 elsewhere, €250,000 for the restoration of listed buildings or the conversion of commercial premises into housing. For a non-European investor, or to secure a family residence right in the EU, it is a clear differentiator. To be honest: this scheme only concerns high budgets; a typical rental purchase in eastern Crete sits far below these thresholds and does not target this visa.

Acquisition costs: budget generously everywhere

• Portugal: progressive IMT (up to 7.5% depending on value), 0.8% stamp duty, notary and registration. Indicative total budget: 6 to 9% of the price.
• Spain: ITP of 4 to 13% depending on the region for resale properties (often 8 to 10% on the coasts), plus notary and registration. Indicative total budget: 8 to 12%.
• Greece: 3.09% transfer tax, notary, lawyer, registration and agency. Indicative total budget: 8 to 10% of the price.

The case of Crete: what 1,902 Airbnb listings show

Our research office tracks the Cretan rental market through an internal database of 1,902 active Airbnb listings (July 2026). The figures contradict the idea that you must target the already expensive areas to get performance.

• Median rate in eastern Crete: €123/night, versus €217/night on the rest of the island, at near-identical quality (average rating 4.97 versus 4.98).
• By town: Sitia €88/night, Ierapetra €91/night, Makrigialos €117/night, Elounda €404/night.
• A pool multiplies the nightly rate by roughly 4.7.
• Listings in the East have half as many reviews per listing: less established competition, a market still under-exploited.

What this means for an investor: the rate gap between the east and the west of the island is not explained by property quality, but by awareness and transport links. Yet purchase prices in the East are markedly lower than in Chania or Elounda. Buying where land is affordable and where nightly rates have room to catch up is the definition of a window of opportunity.

Two infrastructure projects are changing the picture: the new Kastelli international airport, scheduled to open in 2028 with a maximum capacity of 18 million passengers per year, and the east-west BOAK motorway, under construction, which will shorten travel times to the east of the island.

What Portugal and Spain do better

An honest comparison has to say it: Greece does not win on everything.

• Maturity and liquidity: the Portuguese and Spanish markets are deeper. Reselling a property in Lisbon or on the Costa del Sol generally takes less time than in rural Crete.
• Air connectivity: Lisbon, Faro, Malaga and Alicante are connected to France all year round. Heraklion remains seasonal, at least until Kastelli opens.
• Financing: Spanish and Portuguese banks lend to non-residents more readily than Greek banks.
• French-speaking ecosystem: Portugal has a dense network of French-speaking professionals, built over ten years of French expatriation.
• Seasonality: the Costa del Sol and the Algarve work almost all year round; the Cretan season runs mainly from April to October.

If your project is primarily residential, with rental income on the side, Portugal and Spain remain coherent choices. If your project is primarily a rental and wealth-building play, the calculation changes.

Summary table: the three countries side by side

Verdict: which country for which profile

• You want to live there year-round and rent out on the side: Portugal or Spain, for the air connectivity and the services.
• You want urban yield in the eurozone with a legible tax framework: Spain, preferably in secondary cities rather than on the already expensive coasts.
• You want the best ratio between purchase price, seasonal yield and taxation under €24,000 of annual rent: Greece, and in particular eastern Crete before Kastelli opens.
• You are a non-European or you are targeting an EU residence right: Greece, the last real estate golden visa of the three.

A property investment abroad has to be prepared: holding structure, application of the tax treaty, short-term rental licence (AMA in Greece), realistic income estimate, complete cost budget. That is the work of a research office. We publish our figures, our sources and our methods: compare, then decide.