What it costs to sell a home

Germany

A private seller saves only their own half (~3.57%), NOT the full total. The buyer separately saves their half.

Typically 7.14% incl. VAT; ~6.25% in Hamburg; ~5.95% in Bremen, Hesse and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

The brokerage contract requires text form (§ 656a BGB); an oral commission agreement is void.

On an illustrative round figure

An arbitrary round number used only to show the arithmetic. It is not a suggestion about any property and not a valuation.
€400,000 → €14,280 (3.57%)

What the law requires

• A property purchase contract is void without notarial certification (§ 311b(1) BGB); the transfer of ownership (Auflassung) must also be declared before the notary (§ 925 BGB). The notary is legally mandatory — an agent is not.
• The notary drafts the contract, checks the land register, secures the buyer with a priority notice, handles the discharge of old mortgages and files the registration. Fees are fixed by law (GNotKG), about 1.5–2% of the price together with land-register fees, and are usually paid by the buyer.
• An energy performance certificate must be shown at the viewing and handed over at the contract, and key figures must already appear in the listing (§ 87 GEG). Violations can be fined (§ 108 GEG).
• Transfer tax (Grunderwerbsteuer) of 3.5%–6.5% depending on the federal state is paid by the buyer.

Poland

Usually the seller pays the whole commission, so the seller's saving is the full gross amount (net rate + 23% VAT).

Rates are unregulated since the 2014 deregulation and are negotiable; who pays depends on the brokerage contract.

On an illustrative round figure

An arbitrary round number used only to show the arithmetic. It is not a suggestion about any property and not a valuation.
PLN 400,000 → PLN 12,300 (3.08%)

What the law requires

• A contract transferring ownership of real estate requires the form of a notarial act, on pain of nullity (art. 158 Kodeks cywilny). The notary is legally mandatory — an agent is not.
• The notary checks the land and mortgage register, verifies identity and title, drafts and reads the act, collects and remits the PCC tax and court fees, and files the application to register the new owner.
• PCC transaction tax is 2% of the price on the secondary market and is paid by the buyer; registration of ownership in the land register costs 200 zł.
• Maximum notary tariff rates are set by regulation and are halved for residential premises; the tariff is negotiable within that maximum.
• Since 28 April 2023 the seller must hand the buyer an energy performance certificate at the sale contract.