„The buyer seems super likeable, he'll take it.“ I hear that a lot - and sometimes it's true. However, when selling property in Nuremberg in 2025, a decisive addition was added: The bank has a say in the decision. And it does so earlier and more strictly than many owners believe. Today, the „good buyer“ is not the one who is the most enthusiastic, but the one who is financially viable - including ancillary purchase costs and possible investments. If that doesn't fit, even the highest bid won't help.
In this article, I explain why banks are now effectively involved in the decision-making process, how you can recognise genuine affordability and how, as a real estate agent in Nuremberg, I vet buyers so that the sale doesn't fall through just before the end.
Why affordability is more important than enthusiasm in 2025
Buyers are often genuinely enthusiastic. The problem is: enthusiasm does not pay the purchase price. Three reasons why banks have more influence:
Equity capital requirements have become more tangible.
Budgets become tight more quickly due to ancillary purchase costs.
Banks look more closely at the property, its condition and overall costs.
That leads to this: A buyer can want to - and still not be able to.
Market value: Banks don't like desired prices
The market value is the price that can realistically be realised under normal market conditions. Banks are guided by plausibility. If the purchase price is significantly higher than the market value, financing becomes more difficult or more expensive.
I derive the market value:
Standard land value as location orientation
Market analysis in the neighbourhood
Reference properties with real sales prices
Material value method for houses
Income capitalisation approach for rented properties
The cleaner the market value is derived, the less friction arises during financing.
Standard land value: a silent checkpoint in financing
The standard land value is not everything, but it is a piece of the puzzle. Banks use it as a guide to determine whether the location and price basically match. If a purchase price appears extremely conspicuous, a closer look is taken.
Market analysis: Why some neighbourhoods create more financing hurdles than others
In Nuremberg, there are neighbourhoods where buyers compare particularly often and banks have particularly frequent queries because the market is very heterogeneous.
Examples from practice:
Areas characterised by old buildings such as St. Johannis or Gostenhof: Condition, pipes, roof and condominium issues can lead to queries.
Large complexes such as Langwasser: House money, reserves and action planning are often a financing issue.
Housing areas such as Eibach, Reichelsdorf or Fischbach: technology, years of modernisation and energy status have a strong impact.
This does not mean that sales will not be made there. It means that financial viability must be secured earlier.
Reference objects: Banks trust markets rather than emotions
If the price and reference properties match, this is an advantage because the purchase price appears more plausible. If the price and references do not match, the buyer often has to provide more equity or receives less favourable conditions.
What makes a „good buyer“ from the bank's point of view
1. equity not only for the purchase price, but also for ancillary costs
Incidental purchase costs such as land transfer tax, notary and land registry costs must be paid. If buyers do not have a buffer for this, things quickly become critical.
2. clear financing framework instead of „we'll sort it out“
A serious buyer has:
a current financing confirmation or a clear framework
an idea of the equity investment
a schedule that matches the financing
3. realistic total cost calculation
Buyers not only have to pay the purchase price, but also:
running costs
House rent for flats
Modernisation, if necessary
Anyone who is unrealistic here will be dropped later.
Asset value method and capitalised earnings value method: why they play an indirect role for banks
Material value method: For houses, it helps to categorise condition and substance logically. If a house needs a lot of renovation, the risk is viewed differently by banks.
Income capitalisation approach: In the case of rented properties, banks scrutinise more closely whether the income logic is viable. Rent, costs and prospects must be consistent.
This valuation logic is not the sole deciding factor, but it does influence how „bank-friendly“ a deal appears.
WEG topics: The underestimated financing killer for flats
In the case of owner-occupied flats, affordability is often jeopardised by WEG facts:
High house rent
Low reserves
Planned measures
Special contribution risk
If these issues are not clear, financing becomes tough or falls through. That's why documents are so important so early on.
Did you know: The highest bid is worthless if it cannot be financed
Many owners chase after the highest offer. In practice, a slightly lower but properly financed offer is often the much better deal because it is sure to go through.
This is not a theory. This is everyday life.
Step-by-step: This is how I, as a real estate agent, check affordability correctly
- Clarify buyer profile: Owner-occupier or investor, schedule, motivation.
- Query the financing framework: not as a „control“, but as process security.
- Factor in ancillary purchase costs: so that the budget is really right.
- Disclose property costs: House charges, reserves, modernisation issues.
- Use market analyses and reference properties: Keep the price plausible so that banks will go along.
- Evaluate offers: not only price, but also security, deadlines, conditions.
- Streamline the process: clear steps up to the notary so that financing does not „expire“.
Conclusion: In Nuremberg, it's not enthusiasm that counts, but financial viability
When selling property in Nuremberg in 2025, the „good buyer“ is the one who is financially viable - realistically, including ancillary purchase costs and possible investments. If you use the market value, standard land value, market analysis and reference properties properly and check buyers for financial viability at an early stage, you will avoid jumps and sell more predictably.
If you want to sell your property in Nuremberg and don't want to risk the deal falling through just before it closes, as a real estate agent in Nuremberg I will support you with a process that checks affordability, creates security and reliably guides the sale through to completion.
