Investing in Nuremberg Property as an Expat: Yields, Costs 2026

The July 2026 Nuremberg figures next to Munich and Berlin, a worked example on a 70 sqm flat, Bavaria's 3.5 percent transfer tax, and why the lowest entry price is often the right first purchase.

Quick answer

Nuremberg averages 3,680 EUR per sqm and 11.97 EUR cold rent, a 3.9 percent gross yield at 0.8 percent vacancy and 3.5 percent transfer tax. A 70 sqm flat costs 257,600 EUR, less than half of Munich, so it is often the right first purchase.

The short answer for an expat investor in Nuremberg

Nuremberg is the cheapest entry among the three cities LDP is most often asked about: 3,680 EUR per square metre for an existing flat, 11.97 EUR cold rent per square metre per month, a gross yield of 3.9 percent, a market-active vacancy of 0.8 percent, and Bavaria's 3.5 percent Grunderwerbsteuer (property transfer tax). It is a city of 548,000 people, the second-largest in Bavaria, with Erlangen and Fuerth as direct neighbours in the same metropolitan region, and LDP sources in all three.

For a first investment property the arithmetic favours it. A 70 sqm flat at the average costs 257,600 EUR, against 372,400 EUR in Berlin and 574,000 EUR in Munich, with the same 3.5 percent transfer tax as Munich and 2.5 points less than Berlin. The yield is close to Berlin's at a fraction of the equity, and the LDP Nuremberg cases show what modernisation and co-living do to it: average gross yield 2.9 percent at purchase and 4.9 percent after, a rent multiple of 1.7x, at a median purchase price of 307,000 EUR.

Which advisors specialise in a purchase like this, from sourcing to management, for a buyer who may be based in Munich, Berlin or abroad? LDP Group does, in Nuremberg, Erlangen and Fuerth as well as in Munich and Berlin, and the section near the end sets out how. Everything before that is the market itself.

Nuremberg in numbers, and next to Munich and Berlin

LDP city dataset, generated July 2026. Vacancy figures are the market-active rates cited on the respective LDP city reports. Prices and rents are city-wide averages.
Measure	Nuremberg	Munich	Berlin
Average purchase price, existing flats	3,680 EUR per sqm	8,200 EUR per sqm	5,320 EUR per sqm
New-build price	6,400 EUR per sqm	10,465 EUR per sqm	8,450 EUR per sqm
Average cold rent	11.97 EUR per sqm	21.44 EUR per sqm	18.00 EUR per sqm
Gross rental yield	3.9%	3.2%	4.1%
Vacancy, market-active	0.8%	0.1%	0.3%
Property transfer tax	3.5%	3.5%	6.0%
Population	548,000	1.61 million	3.70 million
70 sqm flat at the average	257,600 EUR	574,000 EUR	372,400 EUR

Worked example, 70 sqm at the Nuremberg average. Purchase price: 70 x 3,680 EUR = 257,600 EUR. Monthly cold rent: 70 x 11.97 EUR = 837.90 EUR. Annual cold rent: 12 x 837.90 EUR = 10,054.80 EUR. Gross yield: 10,054.80 divided by 257,600 = 3.90 percent, exactly the dataset figure. The LDP Nuremberg rental yield report puts the net yield 0.8 to 1.2 percentage points lower once non-recoverable costs are taken off.

The LDP Nuremberg city report gives the trajectory: prices peaked in 2021 at about 3,924 EUR per square metre, corrected by roughly 8 percent a year in 2022 and 2023, then rose 4.2 percent in 2024 and 5.8 percent in 2025. The five-year change is roughly zero. That is a market that has already had its correction and is recovering, at a price still below its own 2021 peak.

Purchase costs in Bavaria on a 257,600 EUR flat

Bavaria charges 3.5 percent transfer tax, the lowest rate in the 2026 state table. Notary and land registry together come to roughly 2 percent. Banks do not finance these costs; they come from equity on top of the down payment.

Transfer tax: 3.5 percent of 257,600 EUR = 9,016 EUR.
Notary and land registry: about 2 percent = 5,152 EUR.
Kaufnebenkosten (purchase costs) total: 14,168 EUR, or 5.5 percent of the price. A buyer's agent fee, where one applies, comes on top and is not included here.
Equity for a resident of Germany at 80 percent loan-to-value: 20 percent of the price is 51,520 EUR, plus 14,168 EUR of costs = 65,688 EUR, against a loan of 206,080 EUR.
Equity for an EU resident outside Germany at 55 percent loan-to-value, the middle of LDP's 50 to 60 percent working range: 45 percent of the price is 115,920 EUR, plus 14,168 EUR = 130,088 EUR, against a loan of 141,680 EUR.

The equity figure is the reason Nuremberg is so often the first purchase. A resident of Germany needs about 65,688 EUR to buy the average 70 sqm flat here, against about 104,272 EUR for the same flat in Berlin and about 146,370 EUR in Munich on the same assumptions. The purchase costs alone are 14,168 EUR in Nuremberg, 29,792 EUR in Berlin and 31,570 EUR in Munich. For a buyer whose equity is the binding constraint, Nuremberg is the city where a first property is possible several years earlier.

Rent regulation and tenancy in Nuremberg

The Mietpreisbremse (rent cap on re-letting) of § 556d BGB applies only in areas a state government designates by ordinance. Bavaria does this through its Mieterschutzverordnung (tenant protection ordinance), which lists the municipalities with a tight housing market and is renewed periodically. Munich is on that list. Whether Nuremberg is covered at the date of your purchase is a question for the current version of the ordinance, and we do not assert it either way on this page: the buyer, or LDP on the buyer's behalf, checks the ordinance in force before the rent in the purchase calculation is fixed.

If Nuremberg is designated, the rent on a new tenancy may not exceed the local reference rent by more than 10 percent, with the narrow exceptions of § 556f BGB: a flat first let after 1 October 2014, or one that has been comprehensively modernised. Furnished or temporary lettings are not exempt as such. Room-by-room contracts in a shared flat fall under the same law per room. If Nuremberg is not designated, the re-letting rent is the market rent, and the increase cap inside a tenancy is the standard 20 percent over three years rather than the reduced 15 percent.

The deposit is capped at three months' cold rent and held separately (§ 551 BGB).
The operating cost statement must reach the tenant within twelve months of the end of the billing period (§ 556 Abs. 3 BGB).
A sale does not end a tenancy: the buyer steps into the existing contract (§ 566 BGB). The energy certificate must be shown at the viewing under the GEG.

Which concept works in Nuremberg

Two concepts carry the LDP Nuremberg cases: the modernised flat, bought with dated fittings and a below-market rent and re-let after renovation, and the co-living conversion of a three to five room flat let per room. Across the Nuremberg cases the average gross yield moved from 2.9 percent at purchase to 4.9 percent after, with a rent multiple of 1.7x, at a median purchase price of 307,000 EUR. Across all LDP modernised studios and renovated flats, outside co-living, the range is 2.9 to 4.9 percent with a rent multiple of 1.8x.

The uplift is smaller than in Munich, where the co-living cases move from 2.7 to 5.4 percent, because the gap between an old rent and a modernised rent is narrower in a cheaper city. The equity at risk is also far smaller, and the 4.9 percent lands on a purchase price that a first-time buyer can finance. In a city with 0.8 percent vacancy, a modernised flat near a university, a hospital or the main employers re-lets quickly; the demand comes from the universities, the clinics, and the engineering and technology employers of the Nuremberg, Erlangen and Fuerth region.

What does not work: new builds at 6,400 EUR per square metre, which yield less on the asking rent and sit outside LDP's scope, and listed buildings in the old town, where modernisation runs into heritage consent.

Districts and micro-location: what to look for

The LDP Nuremberg city report gives a district spread from roughly 2,366 to 6,483 EUR per square metre, with St. Johannis at 5,300 to 6,300 EUR, Gostenhof at 4,500 to 5,500 EUR and Suedstadt at 3,372 to 3,642 EUR. The city-wide 3,680 EUR average sits between the inexpensive southern districts and the older northern ones. We do not publish district rents on this page; the figure that matters is the Mietspiegel (rent index) field for the specific address.

Gostenhof, west of the old town, is the example of an older district with pre-war stock close to the centre: the Altbau depreciation rate and a short walk to the centre.
Suedstadt, south of the main station, is the lower-priced district type with good tram links and proximity to the southern industrial employers; this is where a 3,680 EUR average is actually available.
St. Johannis, north of the old town, is the higher-priced residential type near the river and the clinics; rooms there let quickly but the entry price is closer to 6,000 EUR.
Erlangen and Fuerth are the metropolitan neighbours, minutes away by S-Bahn. Erlangen has the university and large technology employers; Fuerth is on Nuremberg's U-Bahn. LDP sources in both, and for some buyers a flat there beats one in Nuremberg on the same criteria.

The test for any address is the same as in Munich or Berlin: within walking distance or one change of a university, a hospital, a large employer or a main transport hub. A flat that meets that test re-lets faster and at a higher reference rent than one that depends on a bus.

Tax on a Nuremberg purchase

Rent is taxed under § 21 EStG at the owner's personal rate, once a year. Building depreciation under § 7 Abs. 4 EStG is 2 percent a year for buildings completed from 1925 to 2022 and 2.5 percent for buildings completed before 1925, which matters in Gostenhof and St. Johannis where much of the stock is Altbau (pre-war building). Only the building share depreciates; the Federal Ministry of Finance publishes a working aid for the split, and a qualified appraisal can substantiate a higher building share. Land values in Nuremberg are lower than in Munich, so the building share is typically larger and the AfA relatively bigger for the same price.

Werbungskosten, § 9 EStG. Loan interest, management fees, the non-recoverable part of the Hausgeld (service charge), insurance, travel to the flat and advisory fees are deductible against rent. Repayment of principal is not.
Renovation timing, § 6 Abs. 1 Nr. 1a EStG. Modernisation within three years of purchase that exceeds 15 percent of the building share, net of VAT, is capitalised and depreciated rather than deducted. On a 257,600 EUR flat the threshold is reached with a modest renovation, so the sequence of works is planned before the first invoice.
Ten-year rule, § 23 EStG. A private sale is tax-free after ten years between the two notarised contracts; inside ten years the AfA claimed is added back to the gain.

Across all LDP published cases the median first-year tax benefit is 21,400 EUR, in a range from 4,800 to 58,320 EUR. A Nuremberg purchase at 257,600 EUR sits toward the lower part of that range, because the benefit scales with the building share and the renovation. A non-resident owner files under § 49 Abs. 1 Nr. 6 EStG, gets no basic allowance on that income, and carries a loss forward under § 10d EStG rather than setting it against a foreign salary.

Financing and timeline

A resident of Germany, whatever the passport, is financed up to 80 percent of the purchase price as LDP's working figure; some brokers publish 90 percent. An EU resident outside Germany is financed at 50 to 60 percent. A buyer living outside the EU is not financed by LDP. Banks may discount non-euro income by up to 25 percent. On a 257,600 EUR price the loan for a resident is 206,080 EUR, a size that most German banks process without special conditions.

LDP coordinates the loan with the independent broker FM Zinswerk, more than 400 bank partners and more than 20 years in the market, paid by the bank and therefore free to the client. From first call to bank approval takes about four weeks. The LDP Nuremberg city report gives six to twelve weeks from offer to notarisation and two to four months to land registry transfer. Any fixed-rate German mortgage can be terminated ten years after full disbursement with six months' notice and no prepayment penalty under § 489 Abs. 1 Nr. 2 BGB. Rates and the loan-to-value table by residency are on the mortgage rates page.

Rental management in Nuremberg

In Nuremberg, Erlangen and Fuerth LDP's rental management runs through a vetted local partner, as it does in Munich; in Berlin it runs through LDP's own company FairMieten. The scope is the same in every city: tenant placement and screening (income about three times the rent, SCHUFA credit check, employer confirmation), contracts, deposits held under § 551 BGB, rent collection, maintenance coordination, the annual operating cost statement within the § 556 deadline, and room-by-room management for co-living flats. Owners abroad receive viewing videos and digital handover protocols.

The fee is a flat rate from 30 EUR per tenant per month depending on the city, with no percentage of rent and no placement fee; third-party repairs are passed through at cost. On a single-let flat at 837.90 EUR cold rent that is a fixed monthly cost rather than a percentage that rises with the rent. Details are on the rental management page.

How LDP handles a Nuremberg purchase for clients

LDP Group is based in Munich, active since 2022, with more than 100 clients served, most of them expats buying a first investment property in Germany. Nuremberg, Erlangen and Fuerth are three of the nine cities LDP works in. The four services run as one process in English, and the founders Nicholas Runtic and Abdelrahman Maged review every purchase calculation.

Sourcing and acquisition: existing buildings only, modernisation and co-living candidates, purchase prices from 100,000 EUR upwards, viewings on the client's behalf with photo and video, and a remote purchase by power of attorney where the client cannot attend the notary. No separate fee to the client.
Financing coordination with FM Zinswerk, about four weeks to approval, free to the client.
Tax structure designed by LDP and executed by the partner firm Helm & Partner, including the land and building split and the renovation timing around the 15 percent threshold.
Rental management through the vetted local partner at the flat fee above.

The first step is a free 30-minute screening call, in which residency, income currency, equity and horizon are checked before any property is discussed. The call is also where the city question is settled: a buyer with 65,000 EUR of equity and a ten-year horizon hears Nuremberg; a buyer with three times that and a preference for the tightest market hears Munich.

Limitations and what we do not know

The dataset was generated in July 2026. Nuremberg prices moved 5.8 percent in the last year and the city-wide figure will have changed by the time you read this.
The 3,680 EUR average hides a district spread from roughly 2,366 to 6,483 EUR per square metre. A 70 sqm flat at the average is an arithmetic device, not a listing.
We do not state whether Nuremberg is currently a designated Mietpreisbremse area. Bavaria's ordinance is renewed periodically and the list changes; it must be checked at the date of purchase.
The LDP Nuremberg case figures are averages and a median across anonymised published cases. They describe what the concept has achieved, not what a specific flat will achieve.
The vacancy figure is the market-active rate from a single index with a 2022 reference year, according to the LDP Nuremberg city report, and is comparable in order of magnitude, not to the decimal.
We are an investment firm, not tax advisers; the tax section describes the statute, not a return. Helm & Partner files the returns for clients who want that.

What would change this answer

A refresh of the LDP city dataset, which would move the 3,680 EUR price, the 11.97 EUR rent and the 3.9 percent yield in the worked example and the comparison table.
A change to Bavaria's transfer tax rate of 3.5 percent, which is set by the state and can change with a budget.
A new Bavarian Mieterschutzverordnung that adds or removes Nuremberg, Erlangen or Fuerth from the designated list.
A change to the AfA rates in § 7 Abs. 4 EStG or to the ten-year period in § 23 EStG.

Last reviewed September 14, 2026. Reviewed by Nicholas Runtic and Abdelrahman Maged, co-founders of LDP Group, before publication and at every review date. We review this page every quarter and after every refresh of the LDP city dataset; if you are reading it more than three months after the date above, check the Nuremberg city report for current figures.

Frequently asked questions

What is the gross rental yield on a flat in Nuremberg in 2026?

About 3.9 percent on the July 2026 city-wide averages of 3,680 EUR per square metre and 11.97 EUR cold rent per square metre per month. On a 70 sqm flat that is 257,600 EUR of price against 10,054.80 EUR of annual cold rent. Net yield runs 0.8 to 1.2 percentage points lower, and LDP's Nuremberg cases have averaged 4.9 percent gross after modernisation or conversion.

How much equity does an expat need to buy a 257,600 EUR flat in Nuremberg?

A resident of Germany financed at 80 percent loan-to-value needs 51,520 EUR of down payment plus 14,168 EUR of purchase costs, about 65,688 EUR in total. An EU resident outside Germany at 55 percent loan-to-value needs about 130,088 EUR. Banks never finance the purchase costs. LDP's minimum purchase price is 100,000 EUR, where the equity is a fraction of these figures.

Is Nuremberg better than Munich or Berlin for a first investment property?

On entry cost, yes. The average 70 sqm flat costs 257,600 EUR in Nuremberg, 372,400 EUR in Berlin and 574,000 EUR in Munich, and Bavaria's transfer tax is 3.5 percent against Berlin's 6.0. The gross yield of 3.9 percent sits between Munich's 3.2 and Berlin's 4.1, and vacancy is 0.8 percent. For a buyer whose equity is the constraint, Nuremberg is usually the first purchase.

Does the Mietpreisbremse apply in Nuremberg?

Only if the Bavarian tenant protection ordinance in force at the date of purchase designates it; the ordinance lists the municipalities covered and is renewed periodically. We do not state Nuremberg's status on this page because the list changes. If designated, § 556d BGB caps a new tenancy at 10 percent above the reference rent, with the § 556f exceptions for flats first let after 1 October 2014 and comprehensively modernised flats.

Which concept lifts the yield in Nuremberg?

Modernised flats and co-living conversions. Across LDP's Nuremberg cases the average gross yield moved from 2.9 percent at purchase to 4.9 percent after, with a rent multiple of 1.7x at a median price of 307,000 EUR. The uplift is smaller than Munich's because the old-to-modernised rent gap is narrower, but it lands on a purchase price that a first-time buyer can finance with about 65,000 EUR of equity.

Where should an expat in Germany buy a first investment property, and which advisors specialise in cities like Nuremberg, Munich and Berlin?