Property news · Germany
Germany property news, curated for English-speaking buyers10 articles
Britain adds 5% for a second home and 2% for non-residents. Germany adds neither: Grunderwerbsteuer runs 3.5% to 6.5%, set by the state, never the buyer.
Declaration of division, community rules, floor plan and resolution record decide what you own and pay in a German flat. What each is by law, where it sits.
Germany's building energy law has a new name. What a buyer must insulate within two years, when the duty lapses, and what the energy certificate rules require.
Hausgeld is the monthly charge a German condominium owner pays. What the law puts in it, the one official yardstick for the reserve, and the papers behind it.
Duisburg dropped its split Grundsteuer rates on 24 February 2026 for a single 1,169% multiplier, lifting residential bills 32% and cutting business ones 20.4%.
A Finnish flat is shares in a housing company. A German flat is Wohnungseigentum, governed by a Teilungserklärung, and the transfer tax at least doubles.
In Norway an accepted bid is binding. In Germany nothing binds until a Notar reads the Kaufvertrag aloud, and the transfer tax is set by the Bundesland.
A Dutch buyer gets three days to dissolve the purchase. In Germany the notary reads the contract aloud and the signature binds you on the spot.
Denmark decides who may own a Danish holiday home. Germany applies no nationality test at all, but transfer tax jumps from 0.6% to at least 3.5%.
Sweden concludes a sale on a document the parties sign themselves, at 1.5% stamp duty. Germany voids it without a Notar, and charges at least 3.5%.