Methodology

How SafeHousing selects best-rated real estate agencies in Germany

SafeHousing is a 150+ page, manually curated PDF list built to help people avoid housing scams and start their search from 1000+ best-rated, more established, better documented agencies.

Our selection approach

SafeHousing selects best-rated agencies only by checking ratings, official business identity, operating history, visible legitimacy signals, and clear public contact details. Agencies cannot pay to appear in the PDF, and no listing is sponsored.

What “trusted” means

For SafeHousing, “trusted” does not mean risk-free or officially endorsed by a government authority. It means an agency has enough public legitimacy signals to be a safer starting point than a newly created, unclear, anonymous, or poorly documented profile.

The purpose is practical: reduce avoidable housing scam risk before a renter or buyer sends money, shares documents, or invests time in suspicious leads.

Signals we look for

Ratings and reputation

The agency should show strong public ratings and reputation signals, not only a basic online presence.

Official identity

The agency should show credible company or business identity signals, such as registration, legal details, or consistent business information.

Operating history

The list favors agencies with visible history and avoids brand-new companies that do not yet have a track record.

Public contact details

Clear contact details, address information, and a stable public presence are treated as important trust signals.

What we exclude

  • Agencies or profiles with unclear identity, weak public information, or suspicious contact patterns.
  • Newly surfaced companies without enough operating history to assess.
  • Listings that appear to rely on pressure, vague claims, copied information, or unverifiable details.
  • Any agency seeking inclusion because of payment, advertising, commission, provision, or affiliate placement.

Independent by design

SafeHousing is not an advertising directory. Agencies do not pay to be listed, ranked, promoted, or included. SafeHousing receives no commission, provision, or affiliate fee from agencies in the PDF.

This independence matters because the list is curated for the safety of buyers and renters, not for agency promotion.

Coverage

The current 150+ page SafeHousing PDF covers 1000+ best-rated agencies across 25 German cities: Berlin, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Essen, Bremen, Erfurt, Köln, Nürnberg, Dortmund, Frankfurt, Dresden, Bielefeld, Leipzig, Bochum, Münster, Wiesbaden, Wuppertal, Offenbach, Karlsruhe, Halle, München, Stuttgart, Hannover, Duisburg, Bonn.

Limits

SafeHousing is an informational safety aid. It cannot guarantee that every agency interaction is risk-free, that every listing remains current forever, or that a transaction will succeed. Users should still verify details directly before paying, signing, or sharing sensitive documents.