Buying an apartment in Germany is a complex but legally accessible process for foreigners, requiring significant upfront capital and a structured legal sequence involving a notary. As of 2026, the market is seeing moderate recovery with predicted price growth of around [16]. Key Buying Costs & Requirements
Typically your last three months of pay slips and your latest tax returns [4, 10].
Obtain a mortgage pre-approval from a German bank or intermediaries like Interhyp [6, 29].
If you sell an investment property within 10 years , profits are subject to heavy taxation unless it was your primary residence [11]. What Buying a Flat in Germany Taught Me
Older apartments ( Altbau ) may require €30,000–€40,000+ in renovations to meet modern energy standards [11, 12].