Property Buying Costs in Frankfurt am Main: Full 2026 Breakdown
Every euro on top of the purchase price: 6% transfer tax, notary, registry, brokerage. LDP Group buys in Frankfurt am Main and works with English-speaking partner notaries. FM Zinswerk, an independent mortgage broker licensed under § 34i GewO, advises on and brokers the loan; the tax structure is set by the tax firm Helm & Partner before the notary date; LDP prepares the file and coordinates.
Book a free screening callIllustrative estimate at a 4.3% assumed interest rate (10y fixed, from our rate table, refreshed every two weeks) plus 2% initial amortisation. Actual terms depend on the property, your profile and the lender. Not financial advice.
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Property Buying Costs in Frankfurt am Main: what to know
Budget about 8% on top of the purchase price in Frankfurt am Main: 6% Grunderwerbsteuer (Hesse) and roughly 2% notary and land registry (statutory GNotKG fees; the 2025 fee reform did not raise them). Where an agent is involved, brokerage comes on top (buyer's share typically 2.98–3.57% by state convention, max 50% of the total since the 2020 reform); LDP purchases carry no additional broker fee (Maklerprovision) on top of the price.
For a standard profile German banks do not finance these costs, and they are not immediately deductible: they form part of your acquisition basis for AfA depreciation. Use the calculator to model total capital needed.
The Frankfurt am Main market in numbers
Frankfurt am Main (Hesse) has 781,337 residents. Existing apartments average around €5,680/m² (citywide range roughly €3,330–€9,390/m²), with new-builds at about €7,840/m². Average asking cold rent is about €19.57/m², putting the gross rental yield near 4.1%.
Price momentum: +4.3% year-on-year. After strong growth to an all-time peak in 2022, Frankfurt prices corrected in 2023–2024 and returned to growth in 2025 (+4.3% for condos in H1 2025, new-build back at 2023 levels), with the Gutachterausschuss forecasting stable to slightly rising prices for 2026.
Vacancy: roughly 0.1% (CBRE-empirica-Leerstandsindex 2025). That is effectively full occupancy: supply scarcity drives both rents and letting speed.
Where to buy in Frankfurt am Main
Westend, Ostend and Nordend trade clearly above the city average; that is where investment demand concentrates.
Westend (Westend-Süd): Frankfurt's most expensive and prestigious district: Gründerzeit townhouses next to the banking towers, Alte Oper and Palmengarten, favoured by finance-sector and international buyers. Apartments trade around €7,640–€11,560/m².
Nordend (Nordend-West): Leafy Gründerzeit quarter around Holzhausenpark, popular with double-income couples and young families; the most liquid of Frankfurt's premium micro-markets. Apartments trade around €6,480–€9,510/m².
Sachsenhausen (Sachsenhausen-Nord): South bank of the Main with the Museumsufer, riverside promenades and Apfelwein taverns; Sachsenhausen-Nord is premium while Sachsenhausen-Süd is markedly cheaper. Apartments trade around €5,160–€10,000/m².
Bornheim: Lively, village-like quarter along the Berger Straße with markets and nightlife ('Bernem'), offering urban flair at noticeably lower entry prices than Westend or Nordend. Apartments trade around €5,580–€8,800/m².
Bockenheim: Mixed former university quarter near the Palmengarten and Messe, gentrifying steadily and Frankfurt's fastest-growing district by population (+4.4% in 2025); seen as a value play. Apartments trade around €6,720–€8,140/m².
Ostend: Up-and-coming district around the European Central Bank tower and Osthafen, combining old working-class stock with new waterfront development. Apartments trade around €6,480–€9,770/m².
The district bands come from separate sources and dates, so some sit outside the citywide range quoted above.
Taxes & buying costs in Frankfurt am Main
Property transfer tax (Grunderwerbsteuer) in Hesse is 6%. Add approximately 2% for notary and land registry (statutory GNotKG fees), so purchase costs come to about 8% of the price; buying through an agent adds the buyer's commission (typically 2.98–3.57%), while LDP purchases carry no additional broker fee (Maklerprovision) on top of the price. For a standard profile German banks do not finance these costs.
Held privately, the property can be sold tax-free after the 10-year Spekulationsfrist; before that, gains are taxed at your personal rate. Depreciation (AfA) shelters rental income: 2% p.a. for buildings completed 1925–2022 (2.5% before 1925), 3% for buildings completed from 2023, and qualifying new projects started between October 2023 and September 2029 can choose 5% degressive depreciation instead of the linear rate.
General information, not tax advice. LDP Group gives no tax advice: the tax structure is set by the tax firm Helm & Partner (Steuerberater) before the notary date, and LDP prepares the purchase figures and coordinates.
Rent regulation in Frankfurt am Main is in legal flux: in a tenancy case in June 2026 the Amtsgericht Frankfurt held the 2025 extension of Hesse's ordinance invalid, the current ordinance expires on 25 November 2026, and a new ordinance that again covers Frankfurt am Main is due in mid-November 2026 (hessenschau, 24 September 2026). Underwrite as if the Mietpreisbremse applies.
Data & sources
Figures from the sources named below, mostly portal asking prices, checked in July 2026. Asking prices typically run 5–15% above notarised transaction values: where both exist, the source basis is stated.
Population: Stadt Frankfurt am Main, Bürgeramt Statistik und Wahlen, 'Frankfurt Statistik.aktuell' 04/2026 (Melderegister, Stand 31.12.2025; +0.6% YoY, all-time high).
Purchase prices: Gutachterausschuss für Immobilienwerte Frankfurt am Main, Halbjahresbericht H1 2025: citywide avg notarised transaction price for condominiums, +4.3% YoY.
Rents: Wohnungsbörse.net Mietspiegel Frankfurt: avg asking cold rent 2025: €19.57/m² (2026 to date: €19.38; district range Frankfurter Berg ~€12.79 to Innenstadt ~€23.77).
Yield: computed from price+rent above: €19.57 × 12 / €5,680 ≈ 4.1% (≈4.4% if the ImmoScout24 WohnBarometer existing-stock asking price of ~€5,291/m², Q3 2025, is used instead).
Price trend: Gutachterausschuss für Immobilienwerte Frankfurt am Main, Halbjahresbericht H1 2025.
Vacancy: CBRE-empirica-Leerstandsindex 2025 (market-active vacancy, data year 2024): Frankfurt 0.1%, tied with Munich and Freiburg for lowest in Germany.
Frequently asked questions
Which buying costs are tax-deductible?
For rented property, transfer tax, notary and registry fees join the building's depreciation basis (AfA); the buyer's agent commission is also acquisition cost. Financing costs (interest, Bereitstellungszinsen) are immediately deductible against rental income.
Can foreigners buy investment property in Frankfurt am Main?
Yes. Non-residents can buy property in Frankfurt am Main without German citizenship or residency. Financing is available to expats and Blue Card holders; non-residents typically need 40–50% equity, while German tax residents usually bring 10–20% of the price (80–90% loan-to-value as standard, up to 100% with a strong income profile), plus the purchase costs in both cases.
What are the total buying costs in Frankfurt am Main?
On top of the purchase price, budget 6% property transfer tax (Hesse) and about 2% notary and land registry, so about 8% in total. Where an agent is involved, the buyer's commission (typically 2.98–3.57%) comes on top; LDP purchases carry no additional broker fee.
What rental yield can I expect in Frankfurt am Main?
Gross yields in Frankfurt am Main average around 4.1%, lower in prime locations like Westend.
How much is property per square metre in Frankfurt am Main?
Existing apartments average about €5,680/m² to buy and roughly €19.57/m² cold rent per month, varying significantly by neighbourhood and condition.