Know your numbers before you invest.

There is no fixed threshold; the comparison with the market tells you more. In our asking-price data (as of November 4, 2026), gross rental yields range from 2.5% in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania to 5.0% in Saarland, and among cities Plauen leads with 7.7%. If the net rental yield is below the mortgage rate, the financing costs more than the rent brings in. InvestBud calculates gross and net yield for any property, including all closing costs.

The Grunderwerbsteuer ranges from 3.5% (Bavaria) to 6.5% (Brandenburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saarland, and Schleswig-Holstein). Each federal state has set its own rate by state law since the 2006 federalism reform, so rates move individually: Saxony raised its rate to 5.5% in 2023, Thuringia cut its own to 5.0% in 2024. InvestBud automatically applies the rate of the state the property is in.

Beyond the transfer tax you pay notary and land registry fees. The GNotKG sets them by statute; without a mortgage they are often just over 1% of the price, a little more with a Grundschuld. Our calculators plan conservatively with 1.5%. For flats and single-family houses, buyer and seller have split any broker commission equally since late 2020 (§ 656c BGB); the buyer's share is typically 3.57%. In total, expect 5.0% to 8.0% of the price without a broker, and up to about 11.6% with one.

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Cash flow is rental income minus all costs: the mortgage payment, the part of the Hausgeld you cannot pass on, the maintenance reserve and management. For maintenance, § 28 of Germany's II. Berechnungsverordnung sets flat amounts per square metre and year, graded by building age and adjusted to consumer prices every three years. Positive cash flow means the property covers its own costs. InvestBud calculates it automatically.

It depends on the individual property: location, the price-to-rent ratio and financing costs decide. The Federal Statistical Office publishes prices quarterly in its house price index. A useful guide is the price multiple: our rental yield ranking treats a price below 20 times the annual cold rent as cheap and above 25 times as expensive. With InvestBud you can model different scenarios for the property.