New Developments on Corfu

New Developments for Sale on Corfu

Discount House has compiled the island's new housing on this page from developers, contractors, and owners of just-completed houses. The filter searches by price, type, house and plot area, number of bedrooms, district, distance to water, pool availability, and stage of readiness: completed, under construction, project with a permit. Separately marked are properties with the construction permit date, energy class, and staged payment schedule. Leave a request — a manager will send the permit, the project, the contractor's estimate, and the completion date for the specific property.

Three Different Products Under One Word

This is the first thing to understand about the island. A classic excavation-pit market, where a large developer sells a building in installments with a bank account, does not exist on Corfu: multi-story construction is prohibited, and new housing here appears one unit at a time. Therefore, behind the request stand three different transactions with different buyer protection.

• Ready new house. Built and completed, sold as an ordinary property. Minimal risk: you view the finished product, verify the permit and energy certificate, and pay once. This is the main format on the island.
• House under construction by contract. You buy a plot with a project or conclude a contract with a contractor and pay in stages. There is no guarantee fund as with large developers on the mainland — your protection is the contract terms, the permit, and the linking of payments to accepted works.
• Construction on your own plot. You own the land and commission the house. The lowest price per meter and full control over the project, but two or three years of timeline and all responsibility for approvals on you.

The practical conclusion: before discussing price, find out which of the three options is in front of you. This determines the money schedule, the list of documents, and what you get if the deadline is missed.

What Is Built and Who Buys It

New villas with a pool — the main volume. Bought for personal use and for weekly rental: a new house has lower maintenance costs, a higher energy class, and therefore cheaper heating. Cottages and maisonettes are chosen for relocation and seasonal living: a more compact format than a villa, with simpler maintenance. Club townhouses in small projects — an option for those who need a shared pool and grounds maintenance without a personal manager; this is the most predictable format in terms of expenses. New apartments are of interest primarily to the investor: they provide year-round rental in the city at the segment's most affordable ticket.

There are practically no penthouses in the island's new construction: high-rises are not built, and the upper level of a new house is a maisonette, not a penthouse. The luxury segment of new housing coincides with frontline villas and premium projects on the western shore. New commercial construction is represented by small tourist properties, and there one looks at the license and the project, not the layout.

Districts: Which Zone Suits Whom

The city and suburbs are chosen by investors and those who live on the island year-round: port, airport, schools, rental demand in any month. The center and east — the zone of club projects near the marinas of Gouvia and Kontokali, taken by boat owners and second-home buyers. The northeast — a status purchase with the highest threshold. The north is valued by families and expats who need shallow water near the shore, shops, and tavernas nearby. The south and west — a choice for the budget and for those who buy sunset and seclusion. Ownership in Greece is full, without an analogue of a term right, so the "best district" here is determined not by the form of ownership but by demand seasonality: for apartments it is the city, for villas — the eastern and northeastern coast. There are no golf courses on the island, and if a project is declared a golf residence, clarify which course is meant.

Tax on New Housing: The Permit Date Decides

The most expensive detail of this page. In Greece, the sale of new housing in principle falls under 24% VAT, but for buildings with a construction permit from 2006, a suspension of this tax applies, and instead a 3% transfer tax is paid. The difference is enormous: on a house for €295,000, that is €8,850 versus €70,800, that is almost €62,000 on a single line of the contract.

Hence two mandatory questions to the seller of a new property. First: the date of issue of the construction permit — it is this that determines the tax regime, not the year of completion of the house. Second: confirmation of the current regime as of the date of your transaction, because the suspension is extended by separate decisions, and its term is finite. Get a written answer from a Greek accountant or lawyer before the deposit: this is a case where one certificate is worth more than all the other registration expenses combined.

Transaction, Documents, Residence Permit

For a ready house, the procedure is standard: legal due diligence by a lawyer, Greek tax number, account in a local bank with confirmation of the source of funds, preliminary contract with a deposit, notarial transaction, registration of title. For construction, four steps are added: verification of the permit and the project's compliance with the plot, a contract with the contractor with deadlines and penalties, a payment schedule against accepted stages, and acceptance with an independent engineer. Documents on your side: passport, confirmation of the source of money, power of attorney to the lawyer for a remote transaction. It can be registered to an individual, to co-owners, or to a Greek company. Above the price, count the notary, lawyer, registration, agency commission, and the tax itself under the regime confirmed by the accountant.

For a residence permit, new housing is the cleanest case: the property is residential by designation from the outset, registered as a single cadastral lot, and the area is visible directly from the permit, so the requirement of at least 120 m² is verified in one minute. At the same time, the reduced investment threshold does not apply to new construction: it exists for the conversion of commercial premises into residential and for the restoration of protected buildings. For a new house, the amount by zone of the island applies — it is confirmed with a lawyer in writing, and the list of territories is updated.

Profitability and Pitfalls

A new property beats resale not by the rental rate but by expenses and the time to reach income. The rate in a given district depends on the view and the pool, not on the year of construction, but a new house has no surprises with the roof and utilities in the first years, and the contractor's warranty covers hidden defects. Therefore, what needs to be calculated here is not the promised percentage but the full cost of ownership: the maintenance fee in a club project, pool and garden upkeep, and rental management. For a property under construction, the timeline is added to this: every month of delay is a month without revenue in the season.

Briefly about risks. Completion date: link payments to accepted stages and stipulate a penalty for delay, otherwise you will have no leverage on the contractor. Deviation from the project: what is built not according to the permit will have to be legalized at your own expense. Utilities: connection to water and electricity on a new plot is paid separately and is usually not included in the house price. Restrictions near the water line and in protected zones: a pool or a second building may prove unapprovable, check before purchase. And the short-term rental registry: to rent out a new house by the night, it is entered in the registry and receives a number for listings.