---
title: "Home Equity Calculator"
description: "Calculate the equity required for your property purchase: purchase price, transaction costs, equity ratio, and savings plan to reach your goal."
canonical: "https://investboard.de/en/rechner/eigenkapital"
language: "en"
modified: "2026-07-09"
author: "Investboard"
---

# Home Equity Calculator

How much do you need for your property?

## How much equity do you need for a property?

A widespread orientation from consumer guidance: cover the **ancillary purchase costs entirely from your own funds**, and beyond that ideally bring **around 20% of the purchase price** as equity (Eigenkapital). That is a heuristic, not a bank requirement. It lowers the loan amount, usually improves conditions and creates a buffer in case the property's value temporarily sits below the purchase price.

### The ancillary purchase costs at a glance

In Germany the ancillary costs typically add up to **around 9 to 12% of the purchase price**:

| Component | Magnitude | Note |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Property transfer tax (Grunderwerbsteuer) | 3.5 to 6.5% | Depends on the federal state: 3.5% in Bavaria, 6.5% in NRW, Schleswig-Holstein, Brandenburg and Saarland, for example |
| Notary and land registry | around 1.5 to 2% | Regulated by law (GNotKG), largely uniform nationwide |
| Estate-agent commission (if any) | buyer's share often around 3.57% incl. VAT | Since 23 December 2020 the buyer of residential property pays at most half (Sections 656c, 656d BGB) |

The property-transfer-tax spread is substantial: between 3.5% in Bavaria and 6.5% in several states lies roughly EUR 12,000 of difference on a EUR 400,000 purchase.

### Why the ancillary costs must come from equity

Banks generally finance the purchase price, not the ancillary costs. Those costs create no collateral value the bank could recover, so they have to come from your own funds. Overlooking them means planning with a financing gap the size of the entire ancillary-cost block.

## How the calculator works

### Equity requirement

```text
Ancillary costs = transfer tax (your state) + 2% notary/registry + 3.57% agent

Equity target = ancillary costs + purchase price × equity ratio
```

The calculator applies your federal state's transfer-tax rate and sets notary/registry at 2% and the agent at 3.57%. An example: at a EUR 400,000 purchase price in NRW (6.5% transfer tax) and a 20% equity ratio, the target is roughly EUR 48,280 ancillary costs + EUR 80,000 equity = **around EUR 128,000**. The calculator also shows how long the build-up takes at your savings rate, plus a rough interest illustration of the later monthly instalment.

More equity generally means better interest conditions and a lower instalment. Whether more or less than 20% makes sense depends on income, the rate environment and your plans.

If you buy without an agent, the largest variable cost block disappears; the calculator includes it by default. Transfer-tax rates are set by the states and can change. The instalment figure is a simplified illustration, not financing advice.