Rent or Buy in Germany?
Germany is a renter's country: until the math flips. Compare the net cost of renting against owning over your personal horizon, with honest assumptions on both sides.
Book a free screening callRenting side: rent grows 2.5%/year; your equity earns 3%/year invested. Buying side: 4.3% interest, 2% Tilgung, 10% purchase costs, 1%/year maintenance, minus assumed appreciation. Simplified model: taxes on investments and imputed-rent effects excluded. Illustrative estimate: actual terms depend on the property, your profile and the lender. Not financial or tax advice.
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How this calculator works
The comparison is net cost, not cash flow. Renting costs your (growing) rent, minus what your equity earns while it stays invested. Buying costs interest, purchase costs and maintenance, minus the appreciation of the property: repayment (Tilgung) is not a cost, it's forced saving that builds your equity.
The buy case strengthens with your holding period: purchase costs of ~10% amortise over more years. A home you live in can be sold free of income tax even within ten years, provided you used it only yourself in the year of sale and the two calendar years before; the ten-year rule (Spekulationsfrist) matters only if you let it out. Under ~7 years, transaction costs usually keep renting ahead; beyond 10, buying tends to win in most German cities at moderate appreciation.
What the model deliberately simplifies: taxes on your investment returns while renting, rent-control protection of your current lease (a very cheap old lease shifts the math toward renting), and the non-financial value of owning. Use the sliders to stress-test your own assumptions.
Frequently asked questions
Is it better to rent or buy in Germany in 2026?
For holding periods under ~7 years, renting usually wins because 8–12% purchase costs can't amortise. Beyond 10 years, buying wins in most scenarios with 2%+ appreciation. Your rent level and city matter enormously.
Why isn't the mortgage repayment counted as a cost of buying?
Tilgung converts cash into property equity euro for euro: you keep it. Only interest, purchase costs and maintenance are true costs. This is the single most common mistake in rent-vs-buy comparisons.
What appreciation rate is realistic for Germany?
Long-run German residential appreciation has averaged ~2–3% nominally, with wide city variation. Our city reports show verified 2026 price trends for the 25 largest markets: anchor your assumption there.
Does buying beat renting if I already have a cheap old lease?
Often not for the same flat: regulated in-place rents can be far below market, making your current lease an asset. Run the calculator with your actual rent, not market rent, for that comparison.