Purchase costs in Bavaria: what to budget for

Finance the purchase price and forget the ancillary costs, and you arrive at the notary with a shortfall. Banks generally do not finance these costs — they have to come out of your own funds. So it pays to do the arithmetic early.

Property transfer tax: 3.5 per cent

Bavaria levies 3.5 per cent property transfer tax on the purchase price — the lowest rate in Germany, alongside Saxony. For comparison: North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg and Schleswig-Holstein charge 6.5 per cent. On a €500,000 purchase that is €17,500 in Bavaria instead of €32,500.

The tax falls due once the contract is notarised. Only after payment does the tax office issue the clearance certificate, without which ownership cannot be transferred in the land register.

Notary and land registry: roughly 1.5 to 2 per cent

The purchase contract must be notarised — there is no way around it. Fees are set nationally by statute, so the notary has no room to negotiate. Expect around 1.5 per cent for notarisation, execution, escrow work and the land register entries.

If a land charge is registered to secure your mortgage, further fees apply, scaled to the amount of that charge.

Agent commission: shared

Since 23 December 2020, sales of single-family houses and owner-occupied flats to consumers follow the shared-commission principle: where the seller instructs the agent, the buyer pays at most half the agreed commission. The seller must also have demonstrably paid their share before the buyer is obliged to pay.

This does not apply to apartment blocks, land or commercial property, where commission remains freely negotiable.

A worked example

Detached house in Mühldorf, purchase price €500,000, commission 3.57 per cent including VAT per side — this rate is a Bavarian market average shown for illustration only. Ask Martin Mitschke for our current commission, no obligation:

• Transfer tax (3.5%): €17,500
• Notary and land registry (approx. 1.5%): approx. €7,500
• Agent commission, buyer's share (3.57%): €17,850
• Total ancillary costs: around €42,850 — about 8.6% of the purchase price

So in Bavaria budget roughly 8 to 10 per cent where an agent is involved, and around 5 per cent for a private purchase. What applies in your specific case, we tell you before the viewing — not after.