• Loan amount for “Young buys old” increases significantly to between EUR 140,000 and EUR 180,000/depending on the number of children
• Interest on loans is subsidised through federal government funds: Current effective interest rate of 0.53% with a 35-year term and a 10-year fixed interest rate
• Applicants commit to undertake energy-efficient refurbishment within 54 months of promotion commitment /Refurbishment in individual measures with immediate effect

Frankfurt, Germany. KfW and the German Federal Government are continuing to improve funding for families with at least one child as part of the promotional product “Residential property for families - acquisition of existing properties”/"Young buys old". From 3 August 2026, low- and middle-income families who buy an existing property with a poor energy standard that they live in and refurbish themselves can apply for a significantly higher loan amount from KfW. For families with one child, the maximum loan amount is increasing from EUR 100,000 to EUR 140,000, while for families with two children the amount is increasing to EUR 160,000 (previously: EUR 125,000) and for families with three or more children it will rise to EUR 180,000 (EUR 150,000). The loan interest rates of “Jung kauft Alt” (Young Buys Old) are reduced through funds from the German Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Construction (BMWSB): today, the effective interest rate for a loan with a 35-year term and a 10-year fixed interest rate is 0.53%.

Melanie Kehr, Member of the Executive Board of KfW and responsible for domestic promotion at the bank, had this to say:

"Many families want to have their own home, but have a tight budget. We are therefore pleased to be working with the Federal Government to provide even better support for low- and middle-income families when buying a residential property. With a promotional loan from the "Young buys old" scheme, a larger part of the purchase price can now be financed at a favourable interest rate, which is reduced through funds from the federal government. This makes purchasing a home more realistic and more plannable for families."

Applicants undertake to refurbish the acquired property within 54 months of KfW’s promotion commitment. To this end, KfW and the Federal Government are expanding the possibilities available for families, thereby meeting individual needs even more effectively: refurbishment can now also be carried out by implementing several individual measures. The alternative remains a systemic refurbishment to the energy efficiency standard “Effizienzhaus 85 EE” or “Effizienzhaus Denkmal EE”. If refurbishment as part of individual measures is being carried out, the following must generally be undertaken:

• window replacement
• wall insulation
• insulation of the roof or insulation of the top floor ceiling against unheated attics
• heating replacement (at least 65% of the energy sources must be renewable energies; if this is already the case in the property, this individual measure is omitted)

Low-interest loans and grants from the German Federal Funding for Efficient Buildings (BEG) can be used to finance the refurbishment. This includes the grants from KfW’s funding for the installation of a new, climate-friendly heating system (www.kfw.de/458), KfW’s BEG loans for residential properties (www.kfw.de/261 or the funding offered by BAFA (Federal Funding for Efficient Buildings, BEG).

The key programme details of “Residential property for families - acquisition of existing properties/"Young buys old” at a glance:

• Those eligible to apply are private individuals who are buying an owner-occupied property. The household must include at least one child under the age of 18 and the taxable annual household income must not exceed EUR 90,000 in the case of one child, plus EUR 10,000 for each additional child.
• The residential property that is being purchased must be in energy efficiency class F, G or H at the time of application in accordance with an energy performance certificate.
• As is customary with KfW promotional loans, customers can apply for “Young buys old” loans with their usual banks.
• Applicants undertake to refurbish the acquired property within 54 months of KfW’s promotional commitment.
• All information on “Young buys old” is available at www.kfw.de/308.