Relief on Brokerage Costs For German Home Buyers

The practice of forcing property buyers to pay all or most of the real estate agent fees is slowly coming to an end. In future, anyone buying a property in Germany will only have to pay a maximum of half of the total brokerage costs. A draft law to this effect, drawn up by the federal government, has been approved by the federal council. The sharing of brokerage costs will come as a relief to property buyers, especially in cities with particularly overheated housing markets where prices have skyrocketed.  While the federal government promoted the new law as a means to protect buyers from exploitation, others remain doubtful as to whether it will provide any real financial relief in practice.