Frankfurt Real Estate: Apartments and Houses in Germany's Finance Hub

Westend is the prestigious residential area of old villas near the university and Palmengarten; Nordend and Bornheim are lively Gründerzeit neighbourhoods with cafés; Sachsenhausen sits south of the Main with its apple-wine taverns; Europaviertel is a modern district near the trade fair. The S-Bahn and U-Bahn make living without a car easy. Wiesbaden, Hesse's state capital, is about 40 km west and cheaper in places. Bonn and Berlin are in different regions of Germany, so they are comparisons rather than neighbours.

Germany places no restrictions on foreign buyers. Costs add around 10% to 12%: Hesse's real estate transfer tax is 6%, notary and land register about 1.5% to 2%, and agent commission commonly 3.57% for buyers. The notary prepares the contract and the deed is signed in person or by proxy. Non-resident mortgages are available, usually with 30% to 40% down. The annual property tax (Grundsteuer) is modest. See our Germany consultation guide, the financing page and the Germany page.

Commuter rents and relocation demand from banks and the ECB support the rental market, but German rent rules limit increases, so model yields conservatively with the property valuation tool.