Selling Crete Property?

Selling Crete property is big business. There are hundreds of Crete property estate agents, real estate agencies, property developers and house builders selling Crete property all over this wonderful Greek Island. They operate in the Chania, Rethymnon, Heraklion and Lassithi areas and cover north and south coasts and both East Crete and West Crete.

Rules and fees last checked: October 2026. Always confirm with the official source before you act.

Many of these agents appear in our property hub. See our Crete Property Guide for lists of just some of them.

We sold our Crete property within 3 months of putting it on the market and made an excellent return on the price we’d originally paid just 2 years earlier.

Here's some good general advice on the things you can do to turn your viewers into buyers...

The first thing you need to do when selling your Crete property is to place it with a good Cretan estate agent. This is usually the most effective way to market your Crete property.

What’s a Good Cretan Estate Agent?

A good Cretan estate agent earns its commission from both sides, so it helps to know how agents work here. As far as estate agents go, things work differently here than in the UK. In the UK an estate agent works solely for the vendor and will of course get the highest price they can from a buyer. The higher the selling price they can secure – the higher their commission.

In Crete the estate agent is seen as an intermediary between the two parties of seller and buyer, and gets paid by both for putting them together.

The “Contract” between seller and agent is a bit loose and ad hoc. Expect the agent to act for the buyer as much for you, the seller.

When choosing an estate agent, you should shop around. Although all Crete estate agents offer a “no sale, no fee” deal, they do claim commission by way of a percentage of the selling price if they sell for you. In our experience, there is a very wide range of commission fees between different estate agents - from 0% to 4%!

Added to this, Crete estate agents not only get paid fees from the seller, but also charge a commission fee of the same amount from the buyer!

In effect, they "work" for both the seller and buyer, getting paid by both!

So at 4% from each side, an estate agent selling a property priced at €200,000 makes a whopping €16,000!

We've experienced being both buyers and sellers, and so we’ve dealt with lots of estate agents throughout the whole Island. We’ve been there, done that and are still wearing the “I love Crete’ T shirts!

While Crete estate agents may not be your most loyal friends, they certainly aren’t your enemies. Just make sure you get good value for your money, using the estate agent top tips on this page.

Beware Non Greeks Bearing Gifts!

Non-Greek estate agents can feel like the comfortable choice. As a non Greek you may feel more comfortable dealing with a fellow countryman offering a friendly face and speaking fluently in your mother tongue. There are many non Greek estate agents scattered throughout the island. Most are ex pats themselves who’ve turned their amateur hand to the professional real estate business.

But, in our experience the truly genuine, honest and hardworking and experienced Cretans are far better to place your trust in to be your estate agent.

Website

An agent's website is your most important "shop window". Think about who you are looking to attract to buy your property - usually people living in countries other than Crete! So look for an estate agent with a good website.

Also, don't be afraid to go with more than one. In our experience there's no problem with this, and there's usually no contracts to sign with the agents. Just agree a price and commission and get them to do the work.

When we sold, we also put a small classified ad in Greece Magazine, a UK magazine about Greece at the time, and got a good response - even months after selling our property. We could have sold our property 10 times over!

What Will a Good Estate Agent Do?

A good estate agent will do at least these 3 things.

1. Present Your Property Well

The most productive estate agents will put your property on their (good) web site after taking some excellent photos and getting some property details from you. They will also receive enquiries from prospective buyers, make appointments to view, and accompany them to your property. They will also offer support and offer after sales help to anyone buying through them.

2. Offer Professional Advice

A good professional estate agent will also offer you some ‘house doctor’ tips, including suggestions on how you can present your home to appeal to the right buyer. You might not want to always follow their advice, but doing so will probably result in a better offer and a quicker sale.

3. Introduce Only Suitable and Sincere Viewers

A good estate agent will only send suitable candidates to look around your property. For example – it’s surprising how often a bad agent sends a viewer who is looking only for a spacious new build on the coast to view your inland village cottage!

We’ve known some estate agents who don’t rise to this level of service, but we felt that if they find a buyer, all well and good. You can use as many estate agents as you want, so go for it and get your property exposed in as many web sites and "shop windows" as you can.

What Can You Do?

Don’t rely solely on your estate agent to sell your property.

If you trawl through some property descriptions and pictures on Crete property websites, you’ll see that not many went on the “How to Present Properties Well” training course!

We’ve known of real estate agents who’ve taken really bad snaps ‘willy nilly’ and have placed them on their website. The vendor does not stand a chance with badly taken snaps and poor description. We have seen laundry all over the place, building rubble, general rubbish lying around – and in one picture there was a goat in the kitchen!

So, how can YOU sell your Property? (You might be your own strongest selling point!)

The starting point is to try and see your property from a prospective buyer’s perspective.

Seriously think about painting the walls and woodwork a new brilliant white. White looks so good in the Mediterranean sunshine!

Fix up everything that’s broke, and get rid of some rubbish.

Don’t be afraid to insist on some creative input with regards to pictures and descriptions. If the estate agent can’t or won’t take excellent pictures and write first class descriptions for you – do it yourself.

Every picture tells a story and a good photograph will speak volumes to potential buyers. Compare these 2 photos of the same kitchen.

Before

After

Look at these pictures and think about which kitchen you prefer!

Bear in mind that most estate agents will be only too happy to have you take the pictures and write the copy – and you’ll probably produce better stuff than anything they could produce.

Showing People Round

Viewers who make an appointment are already quite interested by what they have seen and read, apart from a few time-wasters that you can't avoid. But they may have several properties to see, and might be seriously considering a new build with pool.

You have to sell your property to your viewers. And there are some common sense approaches to showing people around that will give you the advantage.

Be aware that most people will usually make up their minds within about 10 seconds of walking in.

So aim for shock and awe.

Open up the shutters and let the light in. Deck the rooms with flowers, polish the woodwork and mop the tiles. Kitchens and bathrooms should be spotless. Collect some fresh herbs from the mountains for the kitchen, and fill a bowl full of fruits.

In the winter, make it bright and warm. Get the log fire burning or turn on the heater.

On a hot day in the summer open the windows and let a breeze in. Switch on the air conditioning 30 minutes before they arrive. There’s nothing more pleasant than walking into a light, cool and airy place after trolling round houses all day on a hot afternoon.

Tidy-up, de-clutter, and put away your personal photos and curious nik-naks.

When people come to view your property, they want to imagine themselves living their dream in your home. If it’s over busy with your personality they will find this hard. Kick out the cat and put away its food bowls. Try to encourage your prospects to imagine their new life in your house.

Put a tray of glasses and cold orange juice on the patio or balcony. Tell them how close you are to the beach/taverna/kafeneion. Fill their minds and senses with all those things that they dream of doing when living their new life in Crete – this will give you a vital edge over the competition.

Estate agent top tips

An estate agent in Crete earns a commission from both seller and buyer, so make the agent work for that fee. These tips help you get full value from your Crete estate agent:

• Check the agent's fees up front, because fees vary widely between agents.
• Negotiate a fee that feels too high, and get the agreed rate in writing.
• Use as many estate agents as you like, since you are not tied to one.
• Chase your agent if you feel they are not doing enough.
• Approve every photo of your home, and take your own pictures if the agent's are poor.
• Approve the wording of the property description too.
• Give the agent full information about you and your house to pass on to genuine buyers.
• List anything you are leaving behind, such as kitchen appliances, light fittings and curtains.
• Tell the agent if you need to move quickly, so they can pass this on to buyers.
• Ask the agent to brief viewers on what to expect from your house.
• Insist on viewers who are serious about buying a Crete property now.

A description needs to sell the home's strongest features. We have known estate agents describe the ins and outs of the septic tank instead of a beautiful garden filled with fruit trees and brightly coloured flowers.

A good briefing saves everyone's time. Viewers looking for a brand new coastal villa will not buy an inland village cottage that needs some renovation. A good estate agent can tell a dreaming holidaymaker from a serious buyer who is ready to commit.

Taxes and Paperwork When You Sell

Selling a Crete property needs up-to-date tax paperwork as well as good marketing. Start gathering the documents as soon as you put the property on the market, because some take weeks to obtain.

• ENFIA certificate: the ENFIA certificate shows the annual property tax position, and a seller must present it to the notary. AADE's guide to the E9 statement and ENFIA explains that foreign residents can issue it online through myAADE.
• E9 property statement: the E9 property statement records the change of ownership. AADE creates it automatically when the transfer tax return is filed digitally through myPROPERTY; otherwise it is due by 31 March of the following year.
• Building and energy certificates: these certificates come from an engineer and an energy assessor. Ask your lawyer or notary for the full list for your property, because it depends on the building.

Capital gains tax on property sales in Greece is suspended until 31 December 2026. The Ministry of Finance's income tax guide sets the rate at 15% when it applies. Ask a Greek accountant whether the suspension has been extended if your sale completes after that date.

The buyer pays the 3% transfer tax on a sale, according to AADE's guide to real estate transfer tax.

UK residents may owe tax at home on the gain. GOV.UK's guide to tax on foreign income says UK residents with foreign income or capital gains usually need to fill in a Self Assessment tax return, and it explains Foreign Tax Credit Relief for tax already paid abroad.

Why some resale properties sell slowly

Resale properties in Crete sometimes sit on the market for a long time, and pricing is often the reason. Many owners paid substantial buying costs on top of the price when they bought. When they sell, they ask more than the market value to recover that money, and buyers will not pay it.

Competition from new builds is another reason. Many estate agents are also property developers, and they would rather promote the new villas they have built than your resale home, which earns them less. Buyers can also choose a brand new house for only a little more money.

Poor marketing is the third reason, by both sellers and agents. Price your home at its market value, and present it well in photos and on viewings.