Real Estate & REITs
Learn to calculate the true costs, financing, yields and risks of owning or renting out property in Germany, and to compare direct property with listed and fund-based real estate investments.
Self-study course Self-study course: written lessons, videos and downloadable materials for independent learning. There is no supervision, assessment, individual feedback or tutoring. Self-check quizzes are evaluated automatically in your browser — we do not see your results.
All 13 lessons free
Before you start
- Basic percentage and interest calculations
- The difference between investing and trading
- A first idea of how loans and interest rates work
What you will be able to do
- Calculate the purchase costs of a German property, including Grunderwerbsteuer, notary and broker fees
- Work out an annuity mortgage payment, the remaining debt after the fixed-rate period and the interest paid
- Compare renting and buying using unrecoverable costs and a break-even value growth rate
- Calculate gross yield, net yield, cash flow, cash-on-cash return and debt service coverage for a rental property
- Stress-test a property plan for falling values, refinancing at higher rates and illiquidity
- Compare REITs, open-ended property funds, crowdfunding and direct ownership by cost, liquidity and risk
Lessons in this course
Real Estate as an Asset Class: Income, Value and Leverage
Understand the two sources of property returns, how to measure them, and how a mortgage magnifies both gains and losses on your equity.
Buying a Home in Germany: Purchase Costs, Notary and Land Register
Calculate the purchase costs of a German property and follow the legal steps from the draft contract to the entry in the land register.
Mortgages: Fixed-Rate Periods, Repayment Rates and Total Cost
Calculate an annuity mortgage payment, the remaining debt after the fixed-rate period and the interest you pay, and understand the key contract terms.
Rent versus Buy: A Structured Comparison
Compare renting and buying with the unrecoverable-cost method, find the break-even value growth, and weigh the non-financial factors.
Buy-to-Let: Rental Yield, Vacancies, Maintenance and Management
Move from the advertised gross yield to a realistic net yield by deducting non-recoverable costs, vacancy and management, within German rent rules.
Calculating Return on a Rental Property: Cash Flow and Cash-on-Cash
Combine rent, costs and the mortgage to calculate pre-tax cash flow, cash-on-cash return, equity build-up and debt service coverage.
Risks of Property: Concentration, Illiquidity and Interest-Rate Changes
Stress-test a property purchase for falling values, a refinancing shock and a forced sale, and learn practical ways to reduce each risk.
REITs and listed real estate companies
Learn how REITs and listed property companies work, and how to read NAV, FFO, AFFO and loan-to-value before buying their shares.
Open-ended real estate funds in Germany and their liquidity rules
Understand how German open-ended real estate funds are valued, why they have holding and notice periods, and what happens when redemptions are suspended.
Crowdfunding and tokenised real estate: risks and investor protection
Learn what you actually own in real estate crowdfunding and tokenised property, which EU protections apply, and how to price the risk of default.
Commercial real estate segments: offices, logistics, retail, data centres
Compare the main commercial property segments by lease structure, demand drivers and risks, and calculate net initial yield, WALT and the effect of yield changes.
Property and taxes in Germany: general orientation
Get a general orientation on how rental income, depreciation, property sales and listed or fund real estate investments are taxed in Germany.
A decision checklist for real estate investments
Use a structured checklist with go/no-go criteria, stress tests and a vehicle comparison to decide whether, and how, to invest in real estate.
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View course outline