Purchase Costs Brandenburg 2026

In short: Every purchase price has roughly 8.5% mandatory costs on top — on a 300,000 EUR house that is 25,500 EUR. With an agent it climbs to around 36,000 EUR.

Family purchase? Sales between spouses and direct lineal relatives (parents to children, grandparents to grandchildren) are exempt from transfer tax under § 3 GrEStG. Your notary checks the exemption before signing.

Brandenburg has been at 6.5% transfer tax since July 2015 — together with North Rhine-Westphalia and Thuringia, the highest rate in Germany. Bavaria and Saxony are the cheapest at 3.5%.

But: Anyone moving from Berlin to Neuruppin still saves significantly. A 130 m² house here averages 348,000 EUR — in Berlin you would pay around 564,000 EUR for the same space. The ~214,000 EUR saved on the purchase price easily outweighs the slightly higher tax.

Source: Real Estate Transfer Tax Act (GrEStG), Federal Ministry of Finance. Rates as of 2025, no reform announced for 2026.

In short: Notary and land registry together cost 1.8–2.2% of the purchase price — about 5,400 to 6,600 EUR on a 300,000 EUR house. The rate is set by law and is not negotiable.

Notary (~1.5%)

The notary certifies the purchase contract and registers you as the future owner:

• Certification of the purchase contract (core fee ~0.8–1.0%)
• Preliminary entry (Auflassungsvormerkung) — your protection in the land register until ownership transfers
• Certifications and correspondence with authorities
• Land charge entry if the bank is financing

Land registry (~0.5%)

• Transfer of ownership to the new owner
• Registration of land charge with bank financing
• Deletion of the preliminary entry once ownership has transferred

Tip: The notary provides a free cost estimate before the appointment. Ask for it before signing — that way you know the exact amount in advance.

In short: Banks usually finance the purchase price, not the ancillary costs. If you plan with 20% equity, set aside another 8.5% for fees — rule of thumb: 30% of the purchase price in cash.

Borrowers with strong credit can get 110% financing — the bank covers the ancillary costs as well. The interest rate is noticeably higher and the monthly payment rises accordingly. A conscious choice, not a default.

Combine subsidies: KfW programmes (Family Home, Climate-Friendly Housing) and the BEG programme can substantially lower the effective interest burden — even at higher loan-to-value ratios.

In short: Since 23 December 2020 buyer and seller split the agent commission. When the seller commissions the agent, the buyer pays no more than the same share — market practice is 2.98–3.57% per side including VAT. On 300,000 EUR that is around 10,710 EUR for the buyer, payable from equity.

This is governed by §§ 656a–656d of the German Civil Code (BGB). The seller must pay their share first and prove the payment before the buyer's share falls due. Any agreement loading the full commission onto the buyer has been void since then.

With private listings and no agent involved, this position falls away for both sides — a tangible difference, especially at higher purchase prices.

In short: A plain land purchase carries the same three mandatory costs — 6.5% transfer tax, ~1.5% notary, ~0.5% land registry — but on the usually lower land price. In return, costs come up that are long settled with a finished house.

• Development charges (road, sewer, electricity, water, telecoms): 5,000–25,000 EUR depending on location — ask the building authority in advance whether the plot is fully serviced.
• Surveying and boundary determination by a publicly appointed surveyor, if boundaries or sub-plots need to be set anew.
• Soil survey / ground investigation: checks load-bearing capacity and groundwater before planning — typically 500–2,000 EUR.

Important: Buying the land and the build from the same provider risks the tax office treating both as a "uniform contract" and levying transfer tax on the whole package. Separate contracts with independent parties keep the tax limited to the land price.

Land prices across Neuruppin, the Ruppiner Lake District and Ostprignitz-Ruppin are in the price guide; the glossary explains the term under standard land value.

In short: Transfer tax falls due around 6–8 weeks after notarisation. Without paying it there is no clearance certificate — and without that, the land registry will not record you as the owner.

1. Notarisation: the notary records the contract and secures you with a priority notice in the land register.
2. Notification to the tax office: the notary reports the purchase within two weeks (§ 18 GrEStG).
3. Tax assessment: the tax office issues the transfer-tax notice — usually 4–8 weeks after notarisation.
4. Payment: due within one month of the notice, paid directly to the tax office.
5. Clearance certificate: once payment is received, the tax office confirms it; only then does the notary arrange the change of ownership in the land register.

In practice: keep the equity for the tax ready early. The notice often arrives faster than buyers expect — and your registration as owner depends directly on it.