, Columnist
Americans and Germans Are Being Fleeced by Real Estate Agents
Germans (and Americans) pay far too much commission to real estate brokers.
Property is theft.
Photographer: ODD ANDERSEN/AFPThis article is for subscribers only.
Real estate agents aren’t well liked anywhere, but Germany’s really take the biscuit. Here, home-buyers often pay the commission of an agent hired by the seller and this can be as high as 7% (6% plus sales tax) of the purchase price. Who pays and how much varies by federal state.
If you’re buying a 500,000 euro ($551,000) apartment in Berlin, reckon on paying an eye-watering 35,000 euros ($38,500) or so to the agent. In Hamburg and Frankfurt, they’ll have to scrape by on 30,000 euros.