Guides

Practical knowledge on buying, selling and investing in Austria — concise and from real brokerage practice.

How does buying a property in Austria work?

Buying a property in Austria runs in eight steps: clarify the financing, inspect the property and check the documents, make a written purchase offer, finalise the loan, sign the purchase contract and pay into escrow, obtain a permit if you are a non-EU national, take over the property and finally be entered in the land register (Grundbuch).

How do you sell a property in Austria?

Selling a property in Austria takes seven steps: determine the value, prepare documents including the energy certificate, engage an agent, market the property, accept the purchase offer, complete the purchase contract via escrow, and hand over the property.

Agent commission in Austria: how much is it when buying and when renting?

When you buy a property in Austria, the agent may charge buyer and seller no more than 3% of the purchase price plus 20% VAT each, provided the purchase price is above €48,448.51.

Buying a new build in Vienna: what does first occupancy cost, and how does the law protect you?

According to the 2026 WKO property price report (Immobilienpreisspiegel) of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce, a new-build flat in Erstbezug (first occupancy) in Vienna costs on average around €5,430 per square metre, and a second-hand flat around €3,810.

Property prices in Vienna 2026: what does a flat cost — according to the official figures?

The median price of an owner-occupied flat in Vienna was €5,212 per square metre in 2025 — 5.5% more than in 2024, calculated by Statistik Austria from purchase contracts of private households in the Grundbuch.

Property prices in Lower Austria 2025: flats, houses and plots by district

What do flats, houses and building plots cost in Lower Austria?

Austria property price overview by province (Immobilienpreisspiegel)

What do flats, houses and building plots cost in Austria's provinces?

Austrian house price index: what it shows and latest figures

A house price index shows how the prices of residential property change compared with a base year.

Buying luxury property in Vienna: penthouse, Altbau or villa — what matters?

Luxury property in Vienna means above all penthouses and loft flats, generous Altbau (period building) flats on the Beletage, and villas in the Cottage and villa quarters of the 13th, 18th and 19th districts.

A Vorsorgewohnung in Vienna: what does it really earn, and what should investors watch out for?

A Vorsorgewohnung is a flat you buy to let out over the long term; in Vienna it is usually a new-build flat bought from a Bauträger (developer).

Buying a house in Vienna and the surrounding area: what does it cost, and what should you check?

In 2025 the median price of a house in Vienna was €5,376 per square metre of living space, against €2,653 in Lower Austria (Statistik Austria).

Buying a Zinshaus in Vienna: how much income is permitted, and what do you need to check?

A Viennese Zinshaus is usually a Gründerzeit apartment building that falls fully under the Mietrechtsgesetz (MRG, Tenancy Act): for new contracts the standard rent (Richtwert) of €6.74 per m² applies (since 1 April 2026), with surcharges and deductions, and in Gründerzeit quarters without a location surcharge (Lagezuschlag).

Land register entry in Austria – how long it takes and what it costs

After buying property in Austria, the entry in the land register (Grundbuch) usually takes a few weeks in practice, but there is no statutory deadline – the land register court works through cases as its workload allows.

What is in a property purchase contract in Austria?

A property purchase contract in Austria is drawn up by a notary or lawyer and covers the parties, the property, the price, handover, warranties, release of encumbrances and the Aufsandungserklärung – the seller's consent to the buyer's entry in the land register.

Selling a house in Vienna and Lower Austria – process, specifics, costs

Selling a house differs from selling a flat mainly because of the land: boundaries and surveying, zoning, an energy certificate for the whole building and – for a Superädifikat or building right – a different legal structure.

Selling an inherited property – process, tax, what heirs need to know

An inherited property in Austria can only be sold once the probate proceedings have ended with the court's distribution order (Einantwortungsbeschluss); the heir becomes the owner as soon as this order is final, and the subsequent land register entry only confirms it.

Buying a house in the Vienna suburbs – Korneuburg, Klosterneuburg, Gerasdorf and more

The Vienna suburbs in Lower Austria – including Langenzersdorf, Korneuburg, Klosterneuburg, Gerasdorf, Stockerau, Bisamberg, Leobendorf, Hagenbrunn and Wolkersdorf – offer houses with gardens and good rail and bus links to Vienna.

What makes a penthouse in Vienna?

A penthouse is the top residential unit of a building with its own roof terrace, usually with lift access and a high-end finish.

Buying a villa in Vienna – what matters

A villa in Vienna differs from other luxury property above all through its own, usually large plot.

The most common mistakes when buying property – and how to avoid them

The most expensive mistakes when buying property in Austria usually happen where buyers rely on verbal assurances instead of documents: an unchecked C sheet in the land register, unclear zoning, surprise service-charge back-payments or a reserve fund that is too low.

Hiring an estate agent in Austria – sole agency, commission, withdrawal

When hiring an estate agent in Austria, you choose between a sole agency agreement (Alleinvermittlungsauftrag – only this agent, for a fixed term) and a simple agency agreement (schlichter Vermittlungsauftrag – several agents in parallel, terminable at any time).