Purchase costs when buying an apartment or chalet in Austria are usually around 6.6%. However, in some circumstances, there may be an additional 3% immobilien (estate agency) fees to pay.

The purchase costs are typically:

• Notary fees 2% + VAT

• Land tax / Stamp duty 3.5%

• Land registry fee 1.1%

• Agency fees 3% + VAT (waived in some new developments)

EU nationals have exactly the same rights to buy property in Austria as Austrians. EU nationals are able to live, work and buy property in Austria without restriction.

EU citizens are also able to buy a second home in Austria, assuming that the property has the relevant local permissions to be used as such. These are known locally as ‘zweitwohnsitz’ properties and are highly sought after.

For non-EU citizens, the process is much more complex and varies from province to province. Some provinces have a certain number of permits that can be applied for, but this process is almost impossible in the popular ski regions of Salzburg and Tyrol. Here, non-EU citizens are likely to be restricted to designated ‘zweitwohnsitzgebiete’.

As you would expect, prices vary dramatically across Austria and from province to province.

Most foreign buyers looking for a ski property are focused on Austria’s most expensive regions of Salzburg, Tyrol and Vorarlberg.

In Salzburgerland, entry-level apartments can start from €5,000 / m2 in a resort such as Rauris or Bad Gastein. In the more popular areas such as Saalbach-Hinterglemm and Zell am See-Kaprun, prices can now reach €12,000 m2. This typically means that small apartments with permission for touristic use can start from around €400,000. Prices or chalets start at around €900,000.

High end apartments in the resorts such as St Anton, Lech or Kitzbuhel can now achieve prices up to €20,000 / m2.

It is worth noting that most Austrian prices estimates here refer to holiday properties i.e apartments or chalets that are used for either holiday renting or second homes. Prices can be up to 50% cheaper for main residence (Hauptwohnsitz) property.

Second home buyers looking for cheaper property should look in Carinthia and Styria where prices fall dramatically.

Yes - if you can find one! The Austrian definition of a second home (zweitwohnsitz) is a property that is not your main residence (hauptwohnsitz) and is only used privately by you and your family.

The Austrian laws now restrict the construction of new second homes / zweitwohnsitz so you will need to find an existing property that was historically used as a second home.

This limited supply means that prices for zweitwohnsitz apartments and chalets are much higher than for the comparable main residence / hauptwohnsitz properties.

Property for short-term rentals i.e for tourism purposes, are often new-build residences and come with a rental obligation. These are not defined as second homes but commercial investment properties.

In these commercial tourism residences, you are often able to reclaim the 20% VAT that is levied on a new build apartment.

Yes - you can get a mortgage in Austria from an Austrian bank. However, loan-to-values (LTVs) tend to be conservative.

If you want to buy a second home or tourism property in Austria then you are likely to be limited to borrowing a maximum of 50-60% of the purchase price. If you are planning to move to Austria then the LTV can be up to 80%.

As of June 2025, mortgage rates on second home and tourism properties are around 3.0%. There are no interest only options so all mortgages will be on a full repayment basis.

Recent Austrian banking regulations mean that mortgages can be difficult if you do not have any income in Euros. In some cases you can obtain finance in Austria if you are buying a property for touristic use and can demonstrate that the property will have a positive cash flow.

Unfortunately, since Brexit, UK citizens are no longer EU citizens and therefore not generally allowed to buy property in Austria.

There are occasionally some limited options for non-EU citizens such as property in designated second home areas or existing company structures.