Who Sells Private Islands in Greece, and How Such a Purchase Works

Private islands in Greece are sold by a small number of international brokerages with the networks to reach the families who own them, by the owners’ lawyers through private treaty, and occasionally by court-ordered electronic auction. At any moment roughly fifteen Greek islands are discreetly on the market, out of some six thousand islands and islets, of which fewer than 230 are inhabited. Entry prices for a small islet with a title start around €2 million; islands with planning permission, water and a harbour command tens of millions. The purchase is a land transaction governed by the ordinary rules of Greek property law, with four additional layers of approval that decide, more than price, whether an island is worth buying.

Who owns Greek islands

Most Greek islets belong to the State and are leased rather than sold, when they are made available at all. The privately held islands trace their titles to nineteenth-century grants, monastic estates or family holdings that were never divided, and they change hands rarely. The transactions that define the market are well known: Skorpios in the Ionian, the Onassis island, sold in 2013 to the Rybolovlev family and is now being developed as an ultra-exclusive retreat; Oxia, at the mouth of the Gulf of Patras, was acquired the same year by the Emir of Qatar for a reported €5 million; Patroklos, off Cape Sounion, has been offered for sale for more than a decade. Each illustrates the same point: ownership is straightforward, use is the question.

The four approvals

Forestry characterisation comes first. The Forest Service classifies land, and most uninhabited islets are classed in whole or in part as forest, on which building is prohibited. A buyer’s lawyer and engineer obtain the characterisation act before any deposit, because it determines whether a single square metre can be built.

Archaeological clearance comes second. The Ephorate of Antiquities confirms that no declared archaeological site or monument covers the land, and sets conditions where one does. Many Greek islets carry traces of ancient habitation, and a finding during works halts them.

Defence approval comes third. Islands in the border areas defined by Law 1892/1990, which include the Dodecanese, the eastern Aegean and other frontier zones, require the approval of a committee with the Ministry of National Defence represented before a buyer from outside the EU and EEA may acquire. Islands elsewhere, including the Ionian and the Saronic, follow the standard procedure described in Can foreigners buy property in Greece?

Environmental status comes fourth. A large share of Greek islets lie within Natura 2000 sites, where development requires environmental assessment and is often limited to light infrastructure. The shoreline itself is public property in Greece, and construction keeps a setback from the sea that the shoreline determination fixes for each coast.

What can be built

Outside town plans, Greek law allows a residence of limited size, roughly 190 square metres, on a plot of at least 4,000 square metres, and many islands carry presidential decrees that restrict even that. Larger ambitions, a private resort, a family compound with staff quarters, a marina, proceed through a special spatial plan approved at ministerial level, a process measured in years and justified only for islands of scale. Infrastructure is the buyer’s own: desalination or a water pipeline from the mainland, solar or a submarine cable, a mooring or jetty with its own permit, and a helipad. Buyers who expect to build therefore prize islands that already hold permits, a house and a harbour, and pay a multiple for them.

The island of Makri in the Echinades, off the Ionian coast, shows the other side. Offered at auction in 2022 at €8 million, it returns to auction in November 2026 with a starting price of €247,000, because its classification as forest land within a Natura 2000 site allows only minimal light infrastructure and agriculture. Title was clear; permitted use set the value.

How a purchase proceeds

The sequence follows a Greek property purchase, with the approvals front-loaded. The buyer’s lawyer confirms title at the Cadastre, which on remote islands can involve reconciling old deeds with new cadastral surveys; the engineer obtains the forestry act and the archaeological and environmental positions; the lawyer secures the border-area approval where needed. Only then is a notarial preliminary agreement signed. Transfer tax is 3.09% of the higher of price and objective value, the deed is executed before a notary and registered, and the whole process takes twelve to twenty-four months from first viewing to title. Ownership through a Greek company is common for islands intended for development and is settled with the tax adviser at the outset. The nine legal steps of a standard purchase apply throughout.

Who sells, and how to approach the market

Few islands are advertised. The owners are families who sell once in a generation and expect discretion, proof of funds and a buyer who understands the island’s limits as well as its promise. International brokerages with a private-island practice hold these mandates and introduce qualified buyers under confidentiality; Greek lawyers acting for estates offer others by private treaty; and the State’s electronic auction platform lists islands sold under court order, as Makri is. A buyer who wants a Greek island begins by naming the brokerage, giving a clear brief on purpose and budget, and allowing the search to run in private.

The alternatives that deliver the same life

For most buyers, the life a private island promises, water on every side, arrival by boat, nobody in view, is delivered more reliably by a peninsula or a private cove on an inhabited island. Paxos and Antipaxos, the north-east coast of Corfu, the headlands of Lefkada and the private bays of Kea and Mykonos offer waterfront estates with jetties, mains power and a village ten minutes away, with title and permits settled and a market to sell into. The seasoned island buyer looks at both, and the islands themselves are compared in Which Greek islands are best for buying a luxury villa?

Greece Sotheby’s International Realty, part of a global network whose advisers have handled island and waterfront estates on every continent, represents buyers and owners of private islands and island-like estates in the Ionian and the Aegean, and invites those considering one to begin the conversation privately.

Frequently asked questions

Who sells private islands in Greece?
International luxury brokerages with private-island mandates, including Greece Sotheby’s International Realty within the Sotheby’s International Realty network; the owners’ lawyers by private treaty; and the State’s electronic auction platform for islands sold under court order. Few islands are advertised publicly.

How much does a private island in Greece cost?
Small islets with clear title start around €2 million. Islands with a house, a harbour, water and building permits command tens of millions, and the finest, such as Skorpios, have changed hands for sums reported above €100 million. A restricted forest or Natura 2000 islet, such as Makri, can be auctioned from a few hundred thousand euros because little can be built on it.

Can you build on a private island in Greece?
Only where the forestry characterisation, archaeological clearance and environmental status allow it. Outside town plans a residence of roughly 190 square metres is permitted on 4,000 square metres of buildable land; a resort or compound requires a special spatial plan approved at ministerial level. Islands that already hold permits and infrastructure are valued accordingly.

Figures as of July 2026; forestry, archaeological and defence positions are confirmed by the buyer’s own lawyer and engineer for each island.