BERLIN, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- A draft bill by the German Justice Minister Katarina Barley, which would see property sellers pay estate agent fees and relieve buyers from extra costs, has been criticized on Monday by politicians from the Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community.
According to the draft bill, property buyers in Germany would save up to three billion euros (3.4 billion U.S. dollars) through the planned regulations. In Germany, it is common practice for buyers to be burdened with agent fees, even when the agent has been commissioned by the seller.
Marco Wanderwitz, parliamentary state secretary at the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community, criticized the measure as "unsuitable", saying "there are many other measures that would be much more suitable to reduce the costs of buying a home."
The draft bill would incur additional costs of around 3.3 billion euros to property sellers, the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection estimated.
Barley wants to ensure that whoever commissions a broker has to bear the costs. Based on the assumption that sellers would be generally less willing to pay brokers, the German interior ministry estimated financial losses for brokers between 660 and 750 million euros.
"If at the end of the day, the costs are added to the purchase price, then in the end it becomes even more expensive for the buyer," especially because notary costs and property transfer tax would also be added to the final bill, said Kai Wegner, spokesperson of the governing center-right Christian democratic political alliance (CDU/CSU)in the German Bundestag for construction, housing, urban development and municipalities.
"Our goal is to reduce costs. This draft does not entail that," Wegner concluded.
