Finding a property
Where German properties are actually advertised, what each source is good for, and how to check a price before making an offer.
List compiled 9 September 2026.
General portals
The biggest online property markets in Germany, for both buying and renting.
The market leader, with the most listings and the widest range. Around 19 million visitors a month, plus a financing calculator and a digital applicant profile.
Its share is highest in southern Germany.
For sale · To rent
Germany's second largest portal, part of the Immowelt Group. A mix of agency and private listings.
Its share is highest in Berlin and Hamburg.
For sale · To rent
The third largest, in the same group as Immowelt. Heavily overlapping with it, but occasionally carries something the others do not.
For sale · To rent
Formerly eBay Kleinanzeigen. Mostly private listings, with direct contact to the owner and often no commission. Less competition than on the big portals.
Germany's largest online classifieds market.
For sale · To rent
Commission-free (provisionsfrei)
Platforms built around owners selling directly, with no Maklerprovision.
A platform built specifically for selling without an agent.
For sale · To rent
A general portal with a high proportion of private listings.
For sale · To rent
A smaller portal carrying both private and agency listings.
For sale · To rent
A relatively new portal with an open data foundation.
For sale · To rent
Court auctions (Zwangsversteigerung)
Properties auctioned through the local court. Often below the surveyed value, and with correspondingly more risk.
- ZVG-Portal (Justizportal)Official source
The only official portal of the German states. Always current, always free. Search by picking a Bundesland and then the relevant local court.
Private sites use similar names; this is the only official one.
Auction
An independent information portal covering more than 475 local courts. Adds the surveyor's report and photographs to the official notice, and can send email alerts.
Auction
Auction cases shown on a map, with photographs and details.
Auction
Auction dates listed by local court.
Auction
Before bidding at an auction
- There is usually no right to view the inside of the property.
- About 10% of the surveyed value must be available on the day as a Sicherheitsleistung.
- The current occupant may still be living there, and eviction can take months.
- Financing has to be confirmed beforehand: once you have won there is no withdrawing.
New build (Neubau)
New developments, and the builders who sell them directly.
A portal dedicated to new developments.
For sale
The main portal's own filter for new developments.
For sale
- Developers directly (Bauträger)
Many new developments are sold before they reach a portal, or without ever appearing on one.
Local providers, each with its own site.
A KfW application has to be filed before the notarised contract is signed.
For sale
Bank networks and large agencies
Channels that often publish a property earlier, or only there.
The property network of the Sparkasse banks. A great many properties are offered here first. Nationwide, but organised regionally.
For sale · To rent
- Volksbank and VR-Bank property arms
Each regional Volksbank usually has its own property subsidiary, which has to be found locally.
Local providers, each with its own site.
For sale · To rent
A nationwide digital agency.
For sale
A nationwide agency focused on the middle and upper market.
For sale
An international agency focused on the luxury end.
For sale · To rent · International
- Local newspaper property sections
Regional papers run online property sections that sometimes carry listings the big portals never see.
Local providers, each with its own site.
For sale · To rent
Checking the price
What to consult before making an offer, so the asking price has something to be measured against.
- BORIS (Bodenrichtwertinformationssystem)Official source
The official land value system. Each Bundesland runs its own, for example boris.hessen.de or boris.nrw.de.
One site per Bundesland, so there is no single address.
Pick the one for the state you are looking in.
- Gutachterausschuss (valuation committee)Official source
The annual Immobilienmarktbericht, built from prices actually recorded at sale rather than from asking prices.
Published per city, so there is no single address.
The most reliable source there is for what a property is really worth.
Free or low cost
- Municipal MietspiegelOfficial source
The official rent table, used to work out the Kaufpreisfaktor: purchase price divided by annual cold rent.
Published per city, so there is no single address.
- Portal valuation tools
ImmoScout24 and Immowelt both offer a free automated valuation. Useful as a rough check, no substitute for a survey.
Reached from inside the portals rather than at its own address.
Renting
Sources specific to finding somewhere to rent.
A portal weighted more towards the rental market.
To rent · For sale
- Municipal housing companies
Council-owned housing companies, renting below the open market.
Published per city, so there is no single address.
Every large city has at least one.
To rent
- Housing cooperatives (Wohnungsgenossenschaften)
Low rent and strong security of tenure, but usually a long waiting list and a share to buy first.
Published per city, so there is no single address.
To rent · Requires buying a share
How to search
- 1Set up a Suchagent on several portals at once with the same filters, on instant rather than daily notification.
- 2Get a Finanzierungsbestätigung before starting viewings, not after finding something.
- 3Register directly with a few local agents: a good share of sales happen off-market, before anything is published.
- 4Check any property against BORIS and the Gutachterausschuss report before viewing it.
- 5For an apartment, ask for the Teilungserklärung and the last three years of owners' meeting minutes before deciding.