Background guide. This guide describes the situation as it stood in May 2023. Rates and rules may have changed since, so check our newest guides for current figures.
Update 10 October 2026: the rate hike this article describes, in May 2023, was not the last. Three more increases followed, in June, July and September 2023, before the ECB let the deposit rate peak at 4.00%, the highest level since the euro was introduced. From June 2024 the ECB then began a run of eight cuts, bringing the deposit rate down to 2.00% by June 2025, followed by a longer pause through the second half of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026. On 11 June 2026 the ECB raised rates for the first time since 2023, to 2.25%, and a second increase followed on 10 September 2026, to 2.50% (main refinancing rate 2.65%, marginal lending rate 2.90%, effective 16 September 2026). The 12-month Euribor averaged about 3.25% in September 2026 (ECB data), below its May 2023 level of about 3.86% and well below the October 2023 high of about 4.16%. Read what follows as a snapshot from partway through a much longer rate cycle, not as where things stand now.
Where rates stand after this move
May 2023 marked another step in a tightening cycle that began in mid-2022, as the ECB continued raising rates to bring inflation back toward its target. Lender pricing on Greek mortgages has moved up alongside these decisions over the past year, and buyers who last checked rates a year ago should expect meaningfully different terms today.
Why the ECB is still raising rates
The central bank has been explicit that further moves depend on incoming inflation data rather than a fixed schedule. That makes it difficult for any buyer or lender to confidently predict when the cycle will pause, let alone reverse.
What this means for a variable-rate mortgage
Borrowers on a variable or tracker-style Greek mortgage should expect their payments to reflect this move over time, depending on the specific reference rate and repricing schedule in their contract. Ask your lender directly how and when a rate change is passed through.
What this means for a new application
If you are applying now, get quotes reflecting current pricing rather than rates you may have seen quoted a year ago. Affordability assessments will also reflect the higher cost of borrowing, which can affect the loan-to-value a lender is willing to offer.
The currency side of the equation
Interest-rate decisions in the US and eurozone can both influence the dollar-euro exchange rate, sometimes in ways that partly offset each other from a US buyer's perspective and sometimes not. Track the actual EUR/USD rate at the time you plan to transfer funds rather than assuming today's rate will hold.
What to do next
- Get a current mortgage quote rather than relying on older figures.
- Ask your lender how a rate change affects your specific product.
- Recheck affordability at today's rates, not last year's.
- Track the EUR/USD rate ahead of any transfer.
- Compare fixed and variable options given the current cycle.
Questions US buyers ask
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Who made this guide. Bas Terpstra makes, reviews and approves every guide, using AI tools and public sources as a starting point. Rules and figures change, so treat this as general information and confirm the details for your own situation.
This guide is general information, not personal financial, legal, tax or currency advice. Mortgage availability is subject to credit, income, valuation and lender criteria.