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How Do I Protect Against Exchange Rate Losses When Selling?

Purchase Tips

24.10.2025

First, a reassurance: if you live in the eurozone, this article does not apply to you. Greek property sales are priced and completed in euros, so a seller in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany or France receives euros and keeps euros. There is no exchange rate in the picture. Currency risk only enters the equation if you will convert your sale proceeds out of euros: sellers from the UK, Switzerland, Scandinavia, the United States or Australia, for example. If that is you, the months between agreeing a price and receiving payment leave your proceeds exposed to the currency market, and it is worth understanding how to manage that. Here is how it works and what you can do about it.

What is the Actual Risk?

You agree a sale price in euros. Several months later, at completion, you receive those euros and convert them into your home currency. If the euro has weakened against your currency in the meantime, the same number of euros buys fewer pounds, francs or kronor than you expected when you agreed the price. That is the loss this article is about. Note the direction, because it is often stated backwards. A weaker home currency works in your favour as a seller: your euros convert into more of it. The scenario that costs you money is a strengthening home currency, or equivalently a falling euro, between price agreement and payment. A Greek sale typically takes a few months from accepted offer to completed deed, since the seller's documents (energy certificate, tax clearances, engineer's report) need to be gathered or refreshed before the notary can act. That timeline is your exposure window.

How Much Money is Realistically at Stake?

Over a window of three to six months, major currency pairs such as euro to pound or euro to dollar usually move a few percent. Larger swings happen, but they are tied to genuine shocks rather than normal market conditions; the pound's drop after the 2016 Brexit referendum is the textbook example, not a planning scenario. The arithmetic is still worth doing. On a €300,000 sale, a 3% move against you is €9,000, and a 5% move is €15,000. Whether that is an acceptable risk or a problem depends less on the percentage than on your plans. If the proceeds are earmarked for a house purchase or a fixed commitment in your home currency, an unfavourable move hits you directly. If the money has no immediate destination, you can afford to be more relaxed.

What are the Main Ways to Protect Yourself?

A forward contract fixes today's exchange rate for a conversion on a future date. You know from the moment you book it exactly what your euros will be worth in your home currency, regardless of what the market does. Fees are typically low, and for most sellers who simply want certainty, this is the standard tool. The trade-off is that a forward is binding in both directions. You give up any benefit if the euro strengthens, and you are committed to delivering the euros on the agreed date. That second point matters more than most articles admit, and we come back to it below.

A currency option gives you the right, without the obligation, to convert at a guaranteed rate. If the market moves against you, you exercise the option; if it moves in your favour, you let it lapse and convert at the better market rate. That flexibility costs an upfront premium, which makes options more expensive than forwards and generally more suitable for larger amounts or genuinely uncertain timelines.

Waiting for a better rate is not really protection, it is taking the risk and hoping. It can make sense if you have no deadline for converting and no fixed plans for the money, but it requires accepting that the rate may also move further against you.

When in the Process Should You Hedge?

Later than most guides suggest. The tempting moment is right after agreeing the price, because that is when the amount becomes known. The problem is that a forward contract commits you to delivering euros on a set date whether or not your property sale completes. If you hedge on a handshake and the buyer withdraws, you still owe the currency provider those euros, or you pay to unwind the position at whatever the market rate is then. The safer sequence is to put protection in place once the sale is genuinely committed: in a Greek transaction, that usually means after the private purchase agreement is signed and the buyer's deposit is paid. From that point the completion is highly probable and the timeline reasonably predictable, which is exactly what a forward contract needs.


Between price agreement and the purchase agreement, if you are worried about the rate, an option is the more appropriate instrument precisely because it does not oblige you to convert if the sale falls through. You lose the premium, nothing more. One practical note on dates: completion in Greece depends on the notary, the buyer's side and the document timeline, so treat any completion date as approximate. Most providers offer forwards with a delivery window or the ability to adjust the date, which is worth confirming before you book.

Which Option Suits Property Sellers Best?

For the majority of sellers, a forward contract booked after the purchase agreement is signed is the right answer. It is simple, cheap and removes the question entirely. Choose it if you value knowing the exact figure over the possibility of doing slightly better. An option earns its premium in two situations: when you want cover before the sale is fully committed, or when the timeline is long and uncertain and you want to keep the upside if the euro strengthens. For straightforward sales with a signed agreement and a deposit in place, the premium is usually money you did not need to spend.

How Do You Arrange It In Practice?

Both high street banks and specialist foreign exchange providers offer forwards and options. For amounts in the range of a property sale, specialists are usually the better starting point: their margins on the exchange rate tend to be tighter than a bank's, and they are used to the moving completion dates that come with property transactions. Expect to provide identification, details of the sale, and typically the purchase agreement as evidence of the underlying transaction. Compare providers on the all-in rate rather than the advertised fee, since the real cost usually sits in the margin on the exchange rate itself. Flexibility on the delivery date and the quality of the people you can actually reach on the phone are worth as much as a marginally better rate.
Forwards and options are regulated financial products, and the right choice depends on your circumstances, so for significant amounts it is sensible to take advice from a qualified financial advisor in your home country. What Elxis can do is keep the Greek side predictable: our legal team manages the documents and the notarial process, and we keep you informed of the realistic completion timeline so that your currency arrangements can be planned around facts rather than guesses. If you are preparing to sell, contact our team, and we will walk you through what to expect.


Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or financial advice. Currency forwards and options are regulated financial instruments. For decisions relating to your specific situation, consult a qualified financial advisor and a lawyer, accountant, or notary for legal and tax matters.

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