How much house can I afford?
Work out the highest price your income and savings carry, including the German purchase costs that your own funds have to cover.
- Free, no sign-up
- Your numbers stay in your browser
- Same rules as the Zenarios app
- Reviewed
You can afford a home up to about €207,000.
Your own funds are the limit: they cover the purchase costs of 11.57% at this price. You'd borrow €206,950 and pay €949 a month.
- The loan is 100% of the price. Banks usually charge a higher rate above 80–90%, so check the rate you are offered.
- Maximum price
- €207,000
- Loan
- €206,950
- Monthly payment
- €949
- Left each month
- €1,529
100% of the price
+ €173 maintenance reserve
after spending, payment and reserve
- Transfer tax (Grunderwerbsteuer) 6%€12,420
- Notary and land registry ~2%€4,140
- Broker (buyer's half) 3.57%€7,390
What if… maximum price
See the figures
| State | Transfer tax | Tax at this price | All purchase costs | Your max price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bavaria | 3.5% | €7,245 | €18,775 | €264,000 |
| Baden-Württemberg | 5% | €10,350 | €21,880 | €227,000 |
| Lower Saxony | 5% | €10,350 | €21,880 | €227,000 |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | 5% | €10,350 | €21,880 | €227,000 |
| Saxony-Anhalt | 5% | €10,350 | €21,880 | €227,000 |
| Thuringia | 5% | €10,350 | €21,880 | €227,000 |
| Bremen | 5.5% | €11,385 | €22,915 | €216,000 |
| Hamburg | 5.5% | €11,385 | €22,915 | €216,000 |
| Saxony | 5.5% | €11,385 | €22,915 | €216,000 |
| Berlin ← | 6% | €12,420 | €23,950 | €207,000 |
| Hesse | 6% | €12,420 | €23,950 | €207,000 |
| Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania | 6% | €12,420 | €23,950 | €207,000 |
| Brandenburg | 6.5% | €13,455 | €24,985 | €198,000 |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | 6.5% | €13,455 | €24,985 | €198,000 |
| Saarland | 6.5% | €13,455 | €24,985 | €198,000 |
| Schleswig-Holstein | 6.5% | €13,455 | €24,985 | €198,000 |
Next step
How the calculator works
The calculator looks for the highest purchase price that passes three tests, and reports the one that binds first:
- Own funds cover the purchase costs. In Germany these are the transfer tax (Grunderwerbsteuer, set by each state), about 2% for notary and land registry, and 3.57% for the buyer’s half of a broker fee, if there is a broker. Few banks lend for these costs, so your savings must pay them. Optionally the rule also asks for 10 % of the price on top.
- The bank’s rule of thumb. The monthly loan payment stays below a share of household net income, 35 % by default.
- Your own budget. Payment plus a maintenance reserve (1 % of the price a year by default) fits into what is left after your other spending. Rent doesn’t count here, because it ends when you move in.
The loan is the price plus purchase costs minus all your own funds. Its payment is calculated the way German banks quote it:
Monthly payment = (interest rate + initial repayment) × loan ÷ 12
Example: Lena and Jonas in Berlin
Lena and Jonas take home €5,200 a month and spend €2,550 on everything except rent. They have €24,000 saved. In Berlin, with a broker, purchase costs are 11.57% of the price, so their savings cover the costs of a home up to about €207,000. That is their limit: the bank rule alone would allow about €377,000, their budget about €464,000.
With €80,000 of their own, the picture changes. Equity would cover the costs up to €691,000, and now the bank rule binds: 35% of their income is a payment of €1,820, which at 3.5% interest and 2% repayment carries a loan of €397,091 and a price of about €427,000.
For most first-time buyers in Germany, savings are the tighter limit, not income. Every euro of purchase costs is gone on the day you buy; it doesn’t become equity in the home.
Transfer tax by state
The federal law sets a rate of 3.5 % (§ 11 GrEStG), but the Basic Law lets each state set its own (Art. 105), and all but Bavaria charge more. Rates used by the calculator:
| State | Transfer tax | On €400,000 | All costs with broker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bavaria | 3.5% | €14,000 | €36,280 |
| Baden-Württemberg | 5% | €20,000 | €42,280 |
| Lower Saxony | 5% | €20,000 | €42,280 |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | 5% | €20,000 | €42,280 |
| Saxony-Anhalt | 5% | €20,000 | €42,280 |
| Thuringia | 5% | €20,000 | €42,280 |
| Bremen | 5.5% | €22,000 | €44,280 |
| Hamburg | 5.5% | €22,000 | €44,280 |
| Saxony | 5.5% | €22,000 | €44,280 |
| Berlin | 6% | €24,000 | €46,280 |
| Hesse | 6% | €24,000 | €46,280 |
| Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania | 6% | €24,000 | €46,280 |
| Brandenburg | 6.5% | €26,000 | €48,280 |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | 6.5% | €26,000 | €48,280 |
| Saarland | 6.5% | €26,000 | €48,280 |
| Schleswig-Holstein | 6.5% | €26,000 | €48,280 |
When a broker works for both buyer and seller of a flat or a single-family house, both pay the same share (§ 656c BGB). The calculator assumes the common total of 7.14 % including VAT, split in half.
How much should the payment be?
The German consumer advice centres (Verbraucherzentrale) note that many banks set the loan payment at up to 40 % of net income, and that this is only an average: two cars, a long commute or expensive childcare leave less room. That is why the calculator uses your actual spending as a second test. Leave a margin, too. A payment that only just fits today has no room for a higher rate after the fixed period, a repair or a year of parental leave.
What moves the price you can afford
When own funds are the limit, every extra euro of savings counts several times over: it pays its share of the costs and allows a price about eight to eighteen times as high, depending on the state and the broker. A purchase without a broker, or in a state with a lower transfer tax, also lifts the limit. When the bank rule or your budget binds, the interest rate and the repayment rate matter instead: one percentage point less in rate or in initial repayment lets the same payment carry a noticeably larger loan. A lower repayment rate leaves more debt when the fixed rate ends, though.
What the calculator can’t see
It doesn’t do the bank’s own household check, which uses flat amounts per person, or look at your credit record. It leaves out renovation, a kitchen and the move, which come on top of the purchase costs. And it can’t tell whether the payment still fits when your income changes. To see whether buying beats renting at this price, try the rent vs buy calculator; for the repayment schedule, the mortgage amortization calculator. Zenarios puts the purchase into your whole plan, month by month.
Common questions
How much house can I afford on €4,000 net a month?
With €2,000 of other monthly spending (rent excluded), €60,000 of own funds, 3.5 % interest and 2 % initial repayment, in Berlin with a broker: about €327,000. The bank rule sets the limit here: a payment of €1,400, 35 % of net income, carries a loan of about €305,000.
How high are purchase costs in Germany?
Transfer tax (Grunderwerbsteuer) of 3.5 % in Bavaria up to 6.5 % in Brandenburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saarland and Schleswig-Holstein; about 2 % for notary and land registry; and 3.57 % for the buyer's half of a broker fee if a broker is involved. Together 5.5 % to just over 12 % of the price. For €400,000 in Berlin with a broker that is €46,280.
How much of my own money do I need?
At least the purchase costs, because few banks lend for them. Many lenders and consumer advisers prefer a share of the price on top. Switch the rule to “costs + 10 %” to see the effect: in the €4,000 example the price falls from about €327,000 to about €278,000.
What share of income can the loan payment take?
Many banks work with up to 35–40 % of household net income. The calculator uses 35 % and also checks your own budget: the payment plus a maintenance reserve of 1 % of the price a year has to fit into what is left after your other spending.