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Prost! Why do Germans make eye contact when they clink glasses?

It is a custom that has caught out every expat at one point or another: so why do Germans insist on looking each other in the eye when they say cheers?

Published: 24 April 2019 10:20 CEST
Prost! Why do Germans make eye contact when they clink glasses?
Photo: DPA

We've all been there. You've had a long day at work, and you're sitting down to enjoy a drink with one of your German friends. Before you take your first sip of sweet, sweet Helles, you raise your glass, as humans have done across the world since time immemorial. 

You clink glasses with your friend and utter a hearty “Prost!”. Then suddenly your friend's face darkens. You have committed the biggest faux-pas in German drinking etiquette: you have failed to make eye contact as you clinked your glasses together. 

Perhaps you have just arrived in Germany and were unaware of the custom. Perhaps you are British and therefore hard-wired to find extended eye contact highly uncomfortable. Perhaps you are with more than one friend, and you simply couldn't face leaning at full stretch, table corner digging into your pelvis, to clink glasses and pointedly stare into the eyes of the people on the other side. 

Whatever the reason, you have upset the Germans. For them, clinking glasses and making eye contact is an absolute must whenever two or more people are gathered in the name of alcohol. 

Ask them why, and they will give you the answer everybody knows. If you don't make eye contact, you are in for seven years of coital misery. 

Yet that is a superstition, not a reason. “Look me in the eye or you will get seven years of bad sex” is only really a credible argument if it comes from the mouth of the person you share a bed with, and that person is really committed to delivering on promises. 

In truth, as with all these things, nobody can say for sure where, when and why the custom originated, and why it persists in Germany and elsewhere in Europe. There are, however, a number of theories, most of which relate to medieval times. 

One suggestion is that the clinking of glasses mimics the fanfare which would have played when a King raised his glass to begin a feast. Yet that doesn't explain the eye contact rule. 

The most credible explanation is that clinking glasses is an insurance mechanism against being poisoned. If the person you are drinking with had poisoned your drinks, bumping your glasses together, particularly if done with some force, would mean that the drinks would splash into one another, and your potential murderer would risk killing themselves along with you. 

So why the eye contact? The only way to be sure that the poison had not spilled into his glass would be to watch the glasses as they hit each other. By making eye contact at that moment, the two drinkers assert to one another that there is no reason to look at the glasses, establishing a mutual trust that neither drink is poisoned. 

How much genuine historical evidence is there for this theory? Not a great deal. But it is at least harder to disprove than the seven year rule. And after all, taller tales have been told after a few beers. 

So there you have it. Even if you are not worried about seven years of unsatisfactory intercourse, you might be worried about being poisoned. So embrace the eye contact and give your glass a good old bump.

READ MORE: 8 strange superstitions that the Germans hold

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PROPERTY

Who pays broker’s fees on property in Germany – and how much do they cost?

One of the major hidden costs of buying and selling property in Germany is the estate agent's commission, or broker's fee. We look at some of the unusual rules around it - and how much you can expect to pay.

Published: 17 September 2024 16:25 CEST
Who pays broker's fees on property in Germany - and how much do they cost?

There are many areas of life in which things in Germany function just that little bit differently – and buying a house is no exception.

Though the buoyant property market in the Bundesrepublik makes it an attractive place to buy, anyone looking to get their foot on the housing ladder should consider the hidden fees they might incur.

Beyond interest rates, taxes and fees for notaries and translators, one major outlay is the estate agent’s commission, which can sometimes stretch to thousands of euros.

Here’s what to know about these hefty fees and how you might be able to lower them. 

Who pays commission on property transactions in Germany?

If you come from another European country or somewhere like the United States, you may be used to a system in which the seller pays the broker’s fee. This intuitively makes sense because the estate agent is there to market the property, liaise with buyers and ultimately get the best price for the seller – so it makes sense that the seller should pay for these services.

Until recently, however, it was the buyer who was responsible for paying the entirety of the estate agent’s commission in Germany. That meant that these fees – which could be as high as seven percent of the purchase cost – were added to the mountain of extra costs buyers had to contend with, from notary fees to land transfer tax.

READ ALSO: The hidden costs of buying a house in Germany

Luckily for buyers (but less so for sellers), this was changed under a law that came into force at the end of 2020. Since then, costs are generally split 50/50 between buyers and sellers.

However, there are some details that are important to note here. If the seller commissions the estate agent to help them sell their home, they are technically liable for the costs but must pay a minimum of 50 percent. 

If the buyer commissions the estate agent to find them a home, the same rules apply the other way around: the buyer is liable for the costs but can obtain a maximum of 50 percent from the seller.

In each case, the side that commissioned the broker must prove they have paid their share before the other side is liable to pay theirs. 

How much do estate agents’ fees cost in Germany?

Commission on property sales varies from state to state but is generally set at between 5 and 7 percent of the purchase price.

According to online portal ImmobilienScout24, these were the standard rates that applied in each of the federal states in 2024, with the number in brackets representing a 50 percent share of the costs:

Baden-Württemberg: 7.14 percent (3.57 percent)

Bavaria: 7.14 percent (3.57 percent)

Berlin: 7.14 percent (3.57 percent)

Brandenburg: 7.14 percent (3.57 percent)

Bremen: 5.95 percent (2.97 percent)

Hamburg: 6.25 percent (3.12 percent)

Hesse: 5.95 percent (2.97 percent)

Lower Saxony: 4.76 – 5,95 percent or 7.14 percent, depending on the region. (2.38 – 3.57 percent)

Mecklenburg Western-Pomerania: 5.95 percent (2.97 percent)

North Rhine-Westphalia: 7.14 percent (3.57 percent)

Rhineland-Palatinate: 7.14 percent (3.57 percent)

Saarland: 7.14 percent (3.57 percent)

Saxony: 7.14 percent (3.57 percent)

Saxony-Anhalt: 7.14 percent (3.57 percent)

Schleswig-Holstein: 7.14 percent (3.57 percent)

Thuringia: 7.14 percent (3.57 percent)

If it’s hard to gauge how much this means in real terms, we can take the example of two properties: a €200,000 apartment and a €500,000 family home.

In the state of Hesse, a buyer splitting the broker’s fee equally with the seller would pay €5,940 to buy the €200,000 apartment and €14,850 to buy the €500,000 house.

In pricier Berlin, meanwhile, the same buyer would pay €7,140 on the €200,000 apartment and €17,850 on the €500,000 house.

READ ALSO: Is autumn 2024 the right time to buy a property in Germany?

Here’s where it gets more complicated, however: under German law, you are technically free to negotiate the commission with your estate agent.

That means that, especially in areas with stiff competition, you may be able to secure a better deal. 

Do I always have to pay commission in Germany? 

Not always. In fact, as a seller, you’re perfectly free to sell your property privately without enlisting the help of a real estate agent.

The benefit of this, of course, is that you can potentially save thousands of euros in fees, both for yourself and any prospective buyer. 

On the flip side, though, you will need to take the entire job of the estate agent on yourself, from marketing the property to liaising with potential buyers and finally closing the deal.

Real estate agent Germany

A real estate agent talks to prospective tenants at an apartment viewing. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Tobias Hase

There can also be some upfront costs involved in commissioning things like floor plans and professional photography, as well as the time you’ll need to invest in learning all the procedures and preparing relevant documents for notary – to name just a few examples.

Ultimately, though, it’s up to you to decide whether the expense of working with a professional broker is worth it in the end. 

As a buyer, there are also some situations where you’ll see the words ‘provisionsfrei’ – or commission-free – written in a property listing.

This is fairly common in new-build properties, where the developer may sell the homes directly to interested buyers. More rarely, an existing property may be listed without commission, making it a more attractive proposition.

In both cases, it’s possible that commission has been built into the purchase price, so you may not necessarily be getting a better deal.

Another case where you’re likely to be able to avoid commission as a buyer are so-called Kapitalanlagen – or buy-to-let properties. 

READ ALSO: Should you think about purchasing a buy-to-let property in Germany?

These tenanted properties are designed to be bought as investments: buyers can enjoy additional rental income over time and, ideally, will also make money when they come to sell the property several years later.

For this reason, costs are generally kept slightly lower for the buyer by eschewing the standard broker’s commission. 

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