Real Estate in Germany - NYTimes.com This five-bedroom home about 40 miles from Frankfurt was designed and built in 2009 by the owner, a developer, in a classic modern style. On about a third of an acre and set into a mountainside, the house has two levels and a finished basement, spread over 6,500 square feet. A wing of the second floor could be converted into a separate two-room apartment with its own kitchen and an external staircase. The main entrance, facing south, is a semicircular space with a cavernous ceiling and a curved staircase lined with polished sandstone. Concrete pillars span to the ceiling, which is set with a striking contemporary chandelier made of shells. Light fixtures are included in the asking price; furniture is not, although that is negotiable. The living room has a wood-burning fireplace and a high-end entertainment system. Also on the main floor are the kitchen, the dining room, a billiards room and a terrace. On the second floor, the master bedroom opens onto a large balcony with a glass railing. The room has a domed and gilded ceiling, along with a spacious walk-in closet with built-in shelving and a separate shoe room. The master bath has a roomy tub, with pink onyx lining the floor and walls. A flat-screen television is embedded within a large bathroom mirror. All the bedrooms have parquet floors except the master, which has deep-pile carpeting. The expansive basement has a guest bedroom and bath; a fitness room; a sauna and spa; changing rooms; a bar; a wine cellar; and storage space. The house has many double and triple-paned windows, most with electric blinds. It is also equipped with a security system, as well as a system that allows the owner to control the temperature and lighting remotely. Many rooms have built-in Bose speakers. The property is on a wooded mountainside in the Neuhof district of Taunusstein, a city of 29,000 about 10 minutes from Wiesbaden, the provincial capital of the Hesse region in central Germany, and 40 minutes from Frankfurt. The best shops and restaurants are in Wiesbaden and Frankfurt. The home is about a 20-minute drive from the Frankfurt Airport, said Olivier Peters, a managing owner of Peters & Peters Sotheby's International Realty, the listing agency. The property market was unaffected by the global financial crisis, mainly because the conservative lending approach of German banks did not create a housing bubble, said Peter Talkenberger, the founder of AllGrund Ltd., a brokerage in Frankfurt-Dreieich. Before 2008, home prices in Frankfurt were increasing 4 to 5 percent annually, but in the past three years, some more sought-after neighborhoods have seen increases of as much as 15 percent a year, he said. "The reason for the increase," said Mr. Talkenberger, "is really people were taking money out of banks because they were afraid of what will happen to the euro," and investing it in real estate. That also means there have been fewer homes on the market, he said. Wiesbaden followed a similar pattern, though there hasn't been quite as much upward pressure on prices, said Franke Holger, a team manager with Re/Max Central in Frankfurt. "We have much more buyers than sellers here in Frankfurt," he said, adding that the imbalance was not quite as extreme in Wiesbaden. Foreign investors began buying in Frankfurt in growing numbers in the early 2000s and have continued to do so, Mr. Talkenberger said. Many early buyers were British, Irish, Japanese and Australian; today the preponderance are residents of south European countries, the Middle East and China. As for Wiesbaden, it sees many American and Middle Eastern buyers. "But people are very, very selective," he said. They don't just buy anything. They buy in a location where they know the value will be absolutely stable. Some of the preferred neighborhoods in Frankfurt are Nordend/Holzhausenviertel, Westend, Sachsenhausen Nord, Bornheim and Bockenheim, Mr. Talkenberger. The highest prices in 2011, seen in the Westend, reached 6,700 euros a square meter, Mr. Holger said. Homes outside of Frankfurt don't see prices reaching nearly as high, and this home in Taunusstein is priced at 3,077 euros a square meter, typical for a luxury home. Given the expanding presence at the United States military base at Wiesbaden, Mr. Peters said he would not be surprised if an American bought this home. A notary must be hired for all sales transactions, brokers said. German buyers typically do not hire brokers to conduct their home searches, though foreign buyers sometimes do. Departing from custom in most other countries, and even other parts of Germany, in the Hesse region the buyer pays the fee for the seller's broker. It is typically 5 percent of the sales price, Mr. Holger said. In addition the buyer pays the notary fee of about 1.5 percent of the sales price, as well as a 3.5 percent tax, Mr. Peters said. Frankfurt government: Frankfurt.de Frankfurt tourism portal: Frankfurt-tourismus.de Wiesbaden portal: Wiesbaden.de Taunusstein portal: Taunusstein.de German real estate association: Ivd.net German; euros (1 euro = $1.29) Property taxes on this house won't exceed several hundred euros a year, Mr. Peters said. Olivier Peters, Peters & Peters Sotheby's International Realty, 011-49-69-2380-7930, Peters-sothebysrealty.de