Buying Property in AustraliaFrom Berlin
Home loan, refinancing and investment lending advice for Australians and expats buying from Berlin. We’re former bankers, we compare 40+ lenders, we’re paid by the lender (not by you), and we work Berlin hours.
- Australian citizens in Germany face no FIRB approval and no foreign-buyer ban: the whole Australian market is open to you, established homes included, and permanent residents are generally treated the same way while they remain ordinarily resident in Australia.
- Euros sit on the preferred currency list, so lenders commonly count 80 per cent of your net salary, and foreign overtime, allowances, commission and bonuses are now accepted in servicing at select lenders.
- Berlin runs eight hours behind Melbourne: a 9am Berlin call lands at 5pm in Melbourne. We work your evening, not ours.
- The full journey, documents to settlement without a flight, is in our step-by-step overseas buying guide. This page covers what is specific to Berlin.
How lenders read euros
Take the assessment in order. Euros sit on the major preferred lists, where lenders commonly count around 80 per cent of net salary, and acceptance of overtime, allowances and bonuses still varies lender to lender. Most lenders model the salary at Australian tax scales regardless of the actual local rate. Then comes the decision that outweighs both of those settings: lender choice, which on an identical payslip moves the available budget by six figures.
Berlin hosts one of Europe’s largest Australian communities, spread across the startup scene, engineering and the arts, with euro income earning the preferred-list treatment this section walks through.
The rules themselves are tidy, which suits Berlin. Euros are a preferred-list currency: lenders commonly count 80 per cent of your net salary, and foreign overtime, allowances, commission and bonuses are now accepted in servicing at select lenders. File the tax quirk under useful context: most lenders assess the salary as if Australian tax applied, even where your actual German rate is higher, which is one reason the modelled position lands less painfully than Berlin-based buyers expect, and lender selection settles the rest.
Do the arithmetic before the emotion: collect the live EUR rate from xe.com, the reference converter for credit teams as well, and put it through the shading calculator on our expat guide. One caveat belongs at the top of the file: on a single Berlin payslip, the gap between the most generous and least generous lender is routinely six figures of budget, so sequence lender matching ahead of the property search.
The Berlin chapter of the Australian story usually starts with a startup or a studio: tech, engineering and the creative economy dominate, often on contracts that mix base salary with equity. German employment documentation is famously thorough, which lenders like, though it arrives in German, which makes the NAATI translation step a first-week task rather than a last-minute one. And a quiet reassurance about German tax: because most Australian lenders model euro salaries at Australian tax scales anyway, the gap between German rates and the modelled position is smaller than most Berlin-based Australians fear.
Recalculates as you type. Neither the 80 per cent tier nor the cap of five is lender policy; both are indicative settings, while the binding numbers come from full serviceability, tax modelling and your commitments, and they differ between lenders by six figures on the same payslip. Your inputs stay in the browser, are never transmitted, and are never visible to us. General information only, not credit advice.
For orientation, our August 2026 house-median tracking: Sydney $1,282,020, Brisbane $1,126,149, Perth $1,050,354, Adelaide $950,703, Melbourne $812,621. Measured against those, the worked example’s indicative ceiling of about $597,600 falls short of the big-capital house medians, and the sensible responses are familiar: units, regional markets, a larger deposit, or a co-borrower. The comparison inherits the example’s illustrative rate, so treat it as a sketch until you run today’s rate through the calculator above. City-by-city figures live in the full median tracker.
Five years of the euro, in Australian dollars
August by August, on Reserve Bank of Australia monthly data, the euro’s path runs A$1.61 (August 2021), A$1.68 (August 2023), A$1.79 (August 2025), then about A$1.64 now. A €100,000 deposit converted in the strongest of those months became $179,019 Australian; converted in the weakest it became $145,455; the distance between them is about $33,564. Which is why this page files transfer timing next to lender selection, not after it.
The discipline is the same one that runs through this page: no forecasting, just sequencing. Learn what a few cents of drift does to your deposit while it is still hypothetical, break large transfers into staged legs rather than one appointed day, and keep the settlement-transfer safeguards on every leg. The live rate is published at xe.com and drops straight into the calculator above. Exchange-rate figures are RBA monthly averages, general information only, not financial or FX advice.
Berlin logistics, solved
Practicalities for Berlin-based buyers: the time difference of eight hours behind Melbourne shapes call scheduling rather than preventing it; documents follow the standard expat file of employment evidence, bank statements and recent payslips; documents issued in German require NAATI-accredited translation; and inspections, contracts and settlement all complete remotely as covered in the step-by-step guide.
- Time zones: Berlin is eight hours behind Melbourne. A 9am Berlin call lands at 5pm in Melbourne, and our calendar shows slots in your local time.
- Documents: the standard expat file applies: employment contract or letter, three months of salary credits, two payslips no older than about 60 days. If your payslips and contract are issued in German, they need translation by a NAATI-accredited professional translator, not by you and not by your broker, so build that into the timeline early.
- Your Berlin address trail: anyone who moves to Berlin or changes apartments within the city must register the new address within 14 days of moving in (Berlin.de, checked 23 August 2026). That habit pays off in lending: proof of your current overseas address is a routine request in an expat file, and a current Berlin registration keeps that document ready before anyone asks.
- On the ground: The same euro treatment covers Munich, Frankfurt and Hamburg, and the wider eurozone. Inspections, exchange and settlement all run remotely: the mechanics are Steps 5 and 6 of the main guide.
- Certifying documents from Berlin: the Australian Embassy in Berlin and the Consulate-General in Frankfurt offer certified copies of documents and witnessing of signatures, in person and by appointment only (germany.embassy.gov.au, checked 23 August 2026), so certified identity documents and the occasional statutory declaration for a purchase or refinance can be dealt with in Germany rather than on a flight home.
- The market you are buying into: premium values fell 3.2 per cent in the three months to July while clearance rates sit under 50 per cent: the case for this cycle is in our buyer’s market analysis and buy-back window piece.
One tax signpost for the Berlin file: Germany reads tax residence from plain living patterns, a dwelling you maintain and use makes you resident under section 8 of the Fiscal Code, and an unbroken stay of six months or more counts as your habitual abode from the day it began under section 9 (Federal Ministry of Finance, official English translation, checked 23 August 2026). Unlimited German income tax liability, meaning tax on worldwide income, generally follows either test, so speak to a German tax adviser about your own position before you buy in Australia from Berlin.
In Berlin? Start with one email. Email ahmed@everstonefinance.com.au, the link pre-fills a short template, and we reply within a day, your time. Or book a slot that lands in your evening.
Australians elsewhere: our guides for Amsterdam, Dublin, London, or the full overseas playbook.
Already own in Australia? Refinance and equity release, from Berlin
Refinancing an Australian loan from Berlin splits neatly into two files. The Australian half, your existing loan statements and rates notices, is already in English and already sitting with your lender. The German half, the employment contract and payslips a lender relies on for assessment, is famously thorough but arrives in German, and needs NAATI-accredited translation before an Australian credit team can read it. Select lenders handle expat refinancing and equity release as routinely as purchases, entirely remotely. According to Everstone Finance, Australians in Berlin can refinance an Australian mortgage without leaving Germany: identity is certified locally, documents are signed electronically, and settlement runs through PEXA, the electronic settlement platform Australian property transactions use.
That split writes the sequence for you. The rate conversation costs nothing to start and needs no translation: the repricing-then-refinance playbook in our negotiate-your-rate guide runs on email from Berlin, and the current cashback market pays switchers who qualify. Order the NAATI translations in the same week, because they are the piece of a full refinance or equity release that cannot be improvised later, exactly as the practical section above advises for purchases. Once the file is complete, the equity path works the same from Berlin as anywhere: if the property has grown while you have been away, select lenders will refinance it from overseas and release part of that growth as the deposit for the next one, assessed on the same shaded EUR income. Serviceability across both loans, current valuations and LVR caps decide the final shape, and mapping that structure is one conversation with a former banker.
Frequently asked questions
Can an Australian living in Berlin buy property in Australia?
Yes, and the sequencing matters more than the eligibility. Eligibility settles itself the moment you hold citizenship, because the FIRB definition of a foreign person never captures you: no approval, no restriction on established property. Permanent residents are generally treated the same way while they remain ordinarily resident in Australia, though a PR holder who has lived overseas for an extended period can be treated as a foreign person under FIRB rules and should confirm their position before signing a contract. That leaves the file itself, lender, documents, settlement, all of it workable from Berlin.
How much of a EUR salary will an Australian lender count?
Commonly around 80 per cent of net salary, since euros sit on the preferred currency lists, with overtime, allowances and bonuses now accepted at select lenders. Policies differ enough between lenders to move the budget by six figures. On a Berlin file the counting question runs through translated documents: the NAATI step turns a thorough German contract into something an Australian credit team can assess, and the shading follows from there.
Do I need to fly back to Australia to buy?
No. Inspections run by video and local eyes, contracts sign electronically in most cases, and settlement completes electronically between your conveyancer and lender. The step-by-step mechanics are in our main overseas buying guide. From Berlin that means eight hours behind Melbourne: a morning call from Germany lands in the Melbourne late afternoon, and everything else in the file moves by email and video.
What documents do I need from Berlin?
In order: employment contract or a letter from the employer, bank statements proving three months of salary credits, two current payslips no more than about 60 days old, and separate evidence for any bonus or allowance income. German-language documents go to a NAATI-accredited professional translator, never to you or your broker, and that step belongs at the front of the sequence, not the end.
Does this guide cover me elsewhere in Germany, or the wider eurozone?
Yes. Lending treatment follows the currency rather than the country, so euro earners in Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg or anywhere else in the eurozone are assessed identically. Only the practical details differ, such as which local documents need NAATI-accredited translation.
My contract and payslips are in German. How much translation do I actually need?
The documents a lender relies on for assessment, typically your employment contract and recent payslips, need translation by a NAATI-accredited professional. Requirements beyond that vary by lender, and some accept bank statements with minimal translation where the figures speak for themselves. Building the translation step into your first week keeps it off the critical path. It is the one Berlin-specific task without a workaround, which is why this page keeps repeating the same advice: order the translations in your first week, not your last.
When should I convert my EUR savings into Australian dollars?
There is no right day, and predicting one is gambling: the five-year spread above shows what timing can be worth, which argues for staging transfers rather than converting everything at once. Lenders also want deposit funds traceable and seasoned, so the movement plan belongs early in the process, not settlement week. From Berlin the same early-start rule applies to the money as to the NAATI translations this page keeps mentioning: both belong at the start of the file, never in settlement week.
I am on a Blue Card in Germany but an Australian citizen. Does the visa matter?
Your German residence status is irrelevant to Australian lending: citizenship is what removes FIRB and the foreign-buyer ban, wherever you live and on whatever visa. What matters to lenders is the stability of the Berlin income and the documentation behind it, not the card that lets you earn it.
I already own a property in Australia. Can I refinance or release equity from Berlin?
Yes, at select lenders: expat policy covers refinancing and equity release as well as purchases, assessed on the same shaded EUR basis, and the process runs remotely. From Berlin the step to order early is NAATI-accredited translation of your German contract and payslips, since your Australian loan documents are already in English, and equity released from an existing property can fund the next deposit, subject to serviceability across both loans, current valuations and LVR caps.
Can I refinance my Australian investment property from Berlin if it is rented out?
Usually, yes. The Australian rental income can be assessed alongside your EUR salary, and an investment loan that has not been reviewed since you left Australia is often the first place to look. The whole process runs remotely on the assessment described on this page, and refinancing a property you already own involves no FIRB approval.
Berlin to Melbourne is one conversation. Start it tonight, your time.
Your EUR salary through the right lender’s eyes, your real budget in both currencies, and the whole purchase run remotely by former bankers. No cost, no obligation.
Book a chat with a former bankerThe people behind Everstone
You’re trusting someone with one of the biggest financial decisions you’ll make. Here’s who you’ll actually be working with.
Ahmed Lotfi
A former major-bank lender who now works entirely for you. Ahmed handles structuring, refinancing and investment lending across the 40+ lender panel.
Zappelin Heng
Co-founder with deep lender experience, focused on getting complex and self-employed files assessed on their real strength, not a tick-box.
About the author. Ahmed Lotfi is co-founder of Everstone Finance and a former banker who now works as a mortgage and finance broker in South Yarra, Melbourne, arranging home, investment and commercial lending for Australians at home and abroad. Everstone Finance operates under the Best Interests Duty as Credit Representative 574314 of LMG Broker Services Pty Ltd, Australian Credit Licence 517921.