Despite the economic uncertainty hitting sectors such as tourism in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, property prices have continued to boom in Austria.
Prices have risen by 50 percent over the last decade.
READ MORE: Where have housing prices risen in Austria during the pandemic?
So with buying becoming a more attractive option for whoever can afford it, can foreigners in Austria buy property?
And what are the rules?
Here’s what you need to know.
Can foreigners buy a home in Austria?
The short answer to the question is ‘yes’, but a lot will depend on your legal status with regard to residency, the type of property you want to purchase and the country – and state – in which you reside.
First things first, check your residency status
If you are living in Austria as an EU/EFTA citizen you have the same rights as Austrian citizens when it comes to purchasing property, providing you plan to live in it as your main residence.
What about ‘third-country nationals’ who live in Austria?
OK, so you might not be an EU/EFTA citizen, but you live in Austria as a national from a non-EU country – making you a ‘third-country national’.
A third person national can only buy property in Austria if they have a permanent residence permit.
Austria consists of nine federal states, and the laws about buying property are different for each of them. In most of these states, before a buyer from outside the EU can buy a property, the purchase must be approved by the real estate commission, which varies from state to state.
Getting permission can take anything between three to four weeks to several months.
The Austrian government website states “Requests are approved if the transaction is of cultural, social, or macroeconomic interest and no national interests are negatively affected.”
You can find out more about the rules in each individual states by clicking the following links (in German).
Two notable exceptions are in the city of Graz (Styria) and Vienna.
In Graz no extra permit is required for third country citizens who wish to buy a property there.
In Vienna, if you are a third country national married to an Austrian citizen, extra authorisation is also not required.
The Local spoke to estate agent Vana Doranovic, who works for Tristar.
Buying a holiday home or second home
- Charming scenes such as this draw people to Tyrol (Photo by JOE KLAMAR / AFP)
If you want to buy a holiday home or second home in Austria, you will face additional hurdles. Even EU citizens face extra hurdles in buying in Austria.
The German magazine New Business reported in 2019 that EU citizens buying a holiday home in the most touristy parts of Austria (Tyrol, Salzburg or Vorarlberg) must get a leisure residence permit (Freizeitwohnsitzbescheid) which can take “many years”. The Luxury Vienna website comments it is “practically impossible” to buy a holiday home in these areas.
There are also increasing crackdowns in these states on people who have bought homes which they claim are their primary residence and then used them as holiday homes, according to the German lawyer Dr Hannes Wiesflecker.
Buyers must indicate from the start if they are buying the residence for permanent residential use. If, after signing the documents, a violation of the regulations is discovered, such as using the property for a second or holiday home, the buyer risks paying a fine of €25,000 euros.
More information on buying a second home in Austria can be found at the following link.
READ MORE: How can I buy a second home in Austria?
Useful vocabulary
Real estate commission - Grundverkehrskommission
Leisure residence permit - Freizeitwohnsitzbescheid
Land acquisition by foreign nationals - Ausländergrunderwerbsgesetz
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