← Real Estate Property

Transaction Costs

Total buyer acquisition cost as a percentage of the purchase price, including: property transfer tax / stamp duty, VAT on new builds where applicable, notary & legal fees, land registry registration, and buyer's agent commission. Does NOT include mortgage costs or ongoing property taxes. The range is extreme: Georgia charges <2% total (no transfer tax, minimal fees), Qatar near 1% (DLD-equivalent), Paraguay <3%. Belgium (>16%), Germany (12%), Spain (10%) and Italy (9%) are among the most expensive standard markets. Singapore is a special case: foreigners face an Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) of 60% as of 2023, pushing total transaction costs to ~65% — effectively pricing most foreigners out of the market. Higher transaction costs also raise the "break-even" holding period before a property investment turns profitable.

#↑ Country↕ Raw Value↕ Score↕
1 Qatar1 1 95
2 Georgia1.5 1.5 93
3 Kuwait2 2 91
4 Paraguay2.5 2.5 89
4 Panama2.5 2.5 89
4 Colombia2.5 2.5 89
4 Armenia2.5 2.5 89
4 Ecuador2.5 2.5 89
9 Belarus3 3 87
9 Uruguay3 3 87
9 Russia3 3 87
9 Bahrain3 3 87
9 Ukraine3 3 87
9 Saudi Arabia3 3 87
9 Oman3 3 87
9 Kazakhstan3 3 87
9 Gibraltar3 3 87
9 Uzbekistan3 3 87
9 Moldova3 3 87
9 Mongolia3 3 87
9 Serbia3 3 87
9 Dominican Republic3 3 87
9 Kyrgyzstan3 3 87
9 Chile3 3 87
25 Azerbaijan3.5 3.5 85
25 Peru3.5 3.5 85
25 Guatemala3.5 3.5 85
25 Nicaragua3.5 3.5 85
25 El Salvador3.5 3.5 85
30 Latvia4 4 83
30 Estonia4 4 83
30 Kosovo4 4 83
30 United States4 4 83
30 Sweden4 4 83
30 Czech Republic4 4 83
30 Poland4 4 83
30 United Arab Emirates4 4 83
30 Slovakia4 4 83
30 Andorra4 4 83
30 Malaysia4 4 83
30 Hungary4 4 83
30 Bulgaria4 4 83
30 Honduras4 4 83
30 Slovenia4 4 83
30 Romania4 4 83
30 North Macedonia4 4 83
30 Montenegro4 4 83
30 Puerto Rico4 4 83
30 Guam4 4 83
30 Costa Rica4 4 83
30 New Zealand4 4 83
52 Lithuania4.5 4.5 81
53 Australia5 5 79
53 Ireland5 5 79
53 Finland5 5 79
53 Northern Ireland5 5 79
53 Canada5 5 79
53 Cambodia5 5 79
53 Laos5 5 79
53 Mauritius5 5 79
53 Aruba5 5 79
53 Brunei5 5 79
53 Liechtenstein5 5 79
53 Korea Republic5 5 79
53 San Marino5 5 79
53 Switzerland5 5 79
53 Belize5 5 79
53 Cape Verde5 5 79
53 Mexico5 5 79
53 Bolivia5 5 79
53 U.S. Virgin Islands5 5 79
53 American Samoa5 5 79
53 Bosnia and Herzegovina5 5 79
53 Croatia5 5 79
53 Pakistan5 5 79
53 Albania5 5 79
53 Tajikistan5 5 79
53 Iceland5 5 79
53 Northern Mariana Islands5 5 79
53 Philippines5 5 79
53 Vanuatu5 5 79
53 Nepal5 5 79
83 Guyana5.5 5.5 77
83 Jamaica5.5 5.5 77
85 Wales6 6 75
85 Botswana6 6 75
85 Brazil6 6 75
85 Curacao6 6 75
85 Monaco6 6 75
85 Kenya6 6 75
85 Rwanda6 6 75
85 Réunion6 6 75
85 Vietnam6 6 75
85 Anguilla6 6 75
85 Sint Maarten6 6 75
85 Saint-Martin6 6 75
85 Mayotte6 6 75
85 Montserrat6 6 75
85 Turkey6 6 75
100 Scotland7 7 72
100 Ghana7 7 72
100 Seychelles7 7 72
100 French Guiana7 7 72
100 Macau7 7 72
100 Saint Pierre and Miquelon7 7 72
100 South Africa7 7 72
100 Thailand7 7 72
100 Jordan7 7 72
100 Morocco7 7 72
100 Argentina7 7 72
100 Tahiti7 7 72
100 Trinidad and Tobago7 7 72
100 Portugal7 7 72
100 Lebanon7 7 72
100 New Caledonia7 7 72
100 Chinese Taipei7 7 72
100 Dominica7 7 72
100 Martinique7 7 72
100 Guadeloupe7 7 72
120 Cayman Islands7.5 7.5 70
121 England8 8 68
121 Gambia8 8 68
121 Senegal8 8 68
121 Malta8 8 68
121 Maldives8 8 68
121 Norway8 8 68
121 Namibia8 8 68
121 Benin8 8 68
121 Netherlands8 8 68
121 Suriname8 8 68
121 Faroe Islands8 8 68
121 Bermuda8 8 68
121 Lesotho8 8 68
121 Swaziland8 8 68
121 Zambia8 8 68
121 France8 8 68
121 Tunisia8 8 68
121 Tanzania8 8 68
121 India8 8 68
121 Algeria8 8 68
121 Palau8 8 68
121 Cook Islands8 8 68
121 Samoa8 8 68
121 Antigua and Barbuda8 8 68
121 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines8 8 68
121 Grenada8 8 68
121 Niue8 8 68
121 Wallis and Futuna8 8 68
121 Fiji8 8 68
121 Tonga8 8 68
121 Papua New Guinea8 8 68
121 Indonesia8 8 68
121 Greece8 8 68
121 Japan8 8 68
121 Solomon Islands8 8 68
156 Ivory Coast9 9 64
156 Egypt9 9 64
156 Zanzibar9 9 64
156 Sri Lanka9 9 64
156 Uganda9 9 64
156 China9 9 64
156 Barbados9 9 64
156 Malawi9 9 64
156 Saint Lucia9 9 64
156 Italy9 9 64
166 Denmark10 10 60
166 Madagascar10 10 60
166 Burkina Faso10 10 60
166 Mali10 10 60
166 Nigeria10 10 60
166 Niger10 10 60
166 Mauritania10 10 60
166 Luxembourg10 10 60
166 Togo10 10 60
166 Gabon10 10 60
166 Cameroon10 10 60
166 Nauru10 10 60
166 Bangladesh10 10 60
166 Tuvalu10 10 60
166 Bahamas10 10 60
166 Marshall Islands10 10 60
166 Iraq10 10 60
166 Spain10 10 60
166 Turks and Caicos Islands10 10 60
166 Turkmenistan10 10 60
166 São Tomé and Príncipe10 10 60
166 Venezuela10 10 60
166 Cyprus10 10 60
166 Israel10 10 60
166 Micronesia10 10 60
166 Saint Kitts and Nevis10 10 60
166 Djibouti10 10 60
166 Iran10 10 60
166 Timor-Leste10 10 60
166 Bhutan10 10 60
196 Germany11 11 56
196 Austria11 11 56
198 Yemen12 12 52
198 Angola12 12 52
198 Congo12 12 52
198 Liberia12 12 52
198 Guinea-Bissau12 12 52
198 Equatorial Guinea12 12 52
198 Sierra Leone12 12 52
198 Guinea12 12 52
198 Zimbabwe12 12 52
198 Libya12 12 52
198 Burundi12 12 52
198 Kiribati12 12 52
198 Ethiopia12 12 52
198 Mozambique12 12 52
198 Comoros12 12 52
198 British Virgin Islands12 12 52
198 Palestine12 12 52
198 Myanmar12 12 52
198 Haiti12 12 52
217 Syria15 15 40
217 Western Sahara15 15 40
217 Chad15 15 40
217 Central African Republic15 15 40
217 Congo DR15 15 40
217 Sudan15 15 40
217 Somalia15 15 40
217 Cuba15 15 40
217 Eritrea15 15 40
217 Afghanistan15 15 40
227 Belgium16 16 36
228 South Sudan20 20 21
228 Korea DPR20 20 21
230 Hong Kong22 22 13
231 Singapore65 65 1