{"id":6498,"date":"2025-03-27T16:42:57","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T15:42:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/latour-finances.de\/?p=6498"},"modified":"2025-07-21T12:08:01","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T10:08:01","slug":"real-estate-loans-in-germany-do-we-need-to-wait-for-a-drop-in-interest-rates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latour-finances.de\/en\/2025\/03\/real-estate-loans-in-germany-do-we-need-to-wait-for-a-drop-in-interest-rates\/","title":{"rendered":"Home loans in Germany: should you wait for rates to fall?"},"content":{"rendered":"

French people in Germany: beware of preconceived ideas about mortgage rates<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"real-estate-germany-2025\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Are you a French national living in Germany and planning to buy a property?
So you've probably already asked yourself this question: \u201cShould you wait for interest rates to fall before taking out a mortgage in Germany?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Expat Finances, specialist in real estate financing for the French in Germany, we hear this question every day<\/strong>.
And yet.., the answer is often misunderstood<\/strong>.
Because no, mortgage rates in Germany do not directly follow<\/strong> announcements by the European Central Bank (ECB).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Real estate rates in Germany depend mainly on German government bonds<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many believe that if the ECB lowers rates, home loans will follow.
But in reality, German banks rely mainly on 10-year German government bond yields<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words:
Even if the ECB lowers its key interest rate, this in no way guarantees a fall in property rates.<\/strong>
And lately, we saw the exact opposite<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Case in point: the ECB lowers interest rates... and mortgages rise!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At the beginning of March 2025, the ECB announced a further reduction in its deposit rate<\/a>.
Some customers wanted to wait, hoping to get a better rate for their home loan in Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But at the same time, the German government announced a sharp increase in public debt<\/strong>. And the European Union proposed a massive financing plan for Ukraine. The result: visit German bond yields <\/a>jumped +0.4 1Q3Q<\/strong>, bringing with them mortgage rates<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This kind of turnaround shows that the link between the ECB and mortgages is indirect, even misleading.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buying in Germany: the right time is when you're ready<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In Germany, mortgage rates are currently around 3.8% (rate for a 10-year Zinsbindung - see our article <\/strong>Mortgages in Germany: 5 differences from France - Expat Finance<\/a><\/strong>)<\/strong>
Waiting for an eventual drop may:<\/p>\n\n\n\n