Purchase costs in Bremen
Whoever buys a house or a flat in Bremen pays 5.5% transfer tax (Grunderwerbsteuer) on the price, plus about 2% for the notary and the land registry, and a broker's fee if an agent sold it. Across Germany the rate ranges from 3.5% to 6.5%.
Transfer tax
5.5%
Notary and land registry
2%
Broker, buyer's share
3.57%
What it costs at typical prices
Incidental costs in Bremen, with a broker; without one the last column falls away.
| Price | Transfer tax | Notary and land registry | Broker | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €250,000 | €13,750 | €5,000 | €8,925 | €27,675 (11.1%) |
| €400,000 | €22,000 | €8,000 | €14,280 | €44,280 (11.1%) |
| €600,000 | €33,000 | €12,000 | €21,420 | €66,420 (11.1%) |
| €800,000 | €44,000 | €16,000 | €28,560 | €88,560 (11.1%) |
Good to know
The transfer tax is due on the price of the property itself. Movable items such as a fitted kitchen can be listed separately in the contract; no transfer tax is due on them.
Notary and land registry fees are set by law and are about the same everywhere: roughly 1.5% and 0.5% of the price.
Banks rarely finance the incidental costs. Plan to pay them from your own savings – and keep a reserve on top.
Transfer tax in every federal state
Status 2026, from the lowest to the highest rate.
- Bavaria (Bayern) 3.5%
- Baden-Württemberg 5%
- Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen) 5%
- Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz) 5%
- Saxony-Anhalt (Sachsen-Anhalt) 5%
- Thuringia (Thüringen) 5%
- Bremen 5.5%
- Hamburg 5.5%
- Saxony (Sachsen) 5.5%
- Berlin 6%
- Hesse (Hessen) 6%
- Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) 6%
- Brandenburg 6.5%
- North Rhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen) 6.5%
- Saarland 6.5%
- Schleswig-Holstein 6.5%