When buying or selling real estate, understanding the mandatory taxes and costs involved is crucial. These costs typically include property transfer taxes, stamp duties, notary fees, and real estate agent commissions, all of which can add up to nearly 20% of the property price in some countries.

To make this process easier, we've compiled data on the average roundtrip costs for real estate transactions in 77 countries. Choose a country below to explore the transaction fees and costs associated with property buying and selling.

Note: The cost estimates provided are based on average figures from our research and updated once a year. Since every property transaction is unique, we strongly recommend consulting a legal professional for personalized advice on your tax obligations and other related expenses.

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Our method for calculating transaction costs

Some transaction costs are difficult to quantify. Others are very subjective. For the purpose of our research we focus on four major costs:

• Registration costs are the fees and taxes incurred in registering the property with the competent land cadastre or registry. These include registration fees, stamp duties, and notary fees.
• Real estate agent fees best capture various search costs. Real estate agent acts as a middleman in a property purchase, matching buyers with sellers, acting as intermediary in price negotiations. They typically assist buyers during the registration process.
• Legal fees are paid to lawyers or to the conveyancer in the preparation of sales and purchase agreement. In some countries, the use of lawyers is mandatory. Lawyers are typically asked to ensure that there are no liens on the property. Legal fees are different from notary fees.
• Sales and transfer taxes are imposed by local and national governments on the sale and purchase of real estate. They include Deed Taxes, Transfer Taxes and Value-added Tax (VAT).

Other incidental costs such as survey fees, acquisition fee for tax number or residency permit or costs for setting up a company are not included in our calculation, for various reasons. Annual property taxes and capital gains taxes are also not included, although they are typically paid before the property is registered.

Sources

Global Property Guide Research, with inputs from local real estate agents, government agencies, World Bank Doing Business, PwC, and Deloitte.