How the house savings calculator works
The calculator estimates how much you need to have saved before buying a home and how long it will take. Enter the price, your current savings, what you can save each month, the down payment percentage and the taxes and fees percentage.
The savings required add the down payment and purchase costs:
Savings required = Price × (% down payment + % taxes and fees)Worked example
For a €250,000 home with a 20% down payment (€50,000) and 10% taxes and fees (€25,000), you need €75,000. If you have €15,000 today and save €800 a month, you get there in about 64 months (just over 5 years), assuming your savings earn 4% a year.
Why 20% and 10%
- Down payment. In many European countries banks typically lend up to 80% of the appraisal value or purchase price, whichever is lower. The remaining 20% comes from your savings.
- Taxes and fees. Purchase taxes (such as transfer tax on resale homes or VAT on new builds), notary, land registry and appraisal fees usually add 8% to 12% of the price, depending on the country and region.
- Affordable payment. As a guide, banks prefer the mortgage payment not to exceed 30% to 35% of net income.
Assumptions and limits
To estimate the timeline we assume your savings earn 4% a year and the property price stays constant. If prices rise faster than your savings, the real timeline will be longer. More detail in our methodology.