Are banks granting loans more restrictively?

Thanks for the info - so we are actually one level lower after all ;)
My girlfriend works in the public sector and from next year we will be closer to 4,400 EUR per month.
We are also frugal and have saved that amount together over three years. If I hadn't been so naive back then, we would have at least twice that amount now.

However, we see ourselves at a maximum rate of 1,200 EUR.
I think the approach of not taking full advantage of what the bank offers is sensible.

Unfortunately, we are tied to the high-priced Hamburg suburbs.
It probably won’t be that easy.
New construction is probably out of the question due to the crazy land prices.

Wishing you much success with your project :)

That will be seen differently if/when overly optimistic loans become non-performing. Unemployment will rise in 2022, many entrepreneurs have been under heavy strain from business failures for months, and it is unclear how long this will last – usually more loans default then.

I’m not in construction financing myself, but I also expect that soon the first financings will start to fall behind. But what exactly is the risk supposed to be? Our list of interested parties for property brokerage plus construction financing is endlessly long, including plenty of people with crisis-proof jobs, teachers, police officers, etc. There are also unbelievably many young families who would give anything for a little house with a garden. And even in locations where no one wanted to go before, houses can now be brokered relatively easily. We recently had a perfectly normal 1970s house in a peripheral location on display, and despite the high price and need for renovation, over 100 inquiries came in... Against this background, you can also approve a financing that four to five years ago you probably would have rejected as too tight. There is definitely some leeway, but whether it is fully exploited naturally depends a lot on the customer.

Unfortunately, we are tied to the high-priced suburban area of Hamburg.
It probably won't be that easy.
A new build is probably out of the question due to the crazy land prices.

Where exactly are you currently priced per sqm in Hamburg?!

Thanks and regards

PS: Curious, because over 400 EUR/sqm are already due here (remote area in the Rhein Neckar region).

In our district of Stormarn, everything from 400 EUR to approximately 800 EUR/sqm is possible. However, these are not binding figures, just rough estimates on my part.

It also strongly depends on the location...
Großhansdorf is probably the frontrunner, villages around the district town of Bad Oldesloe are likely still quite affordable.

Hamburg is on average probably even more expensive, but fortunately I don't want to go there either.

Just today an article appeared in the FAZ (freely accessible): "Die Banken werden strenger". It actually contains exactly what I have been noticing in my surroundings.

The article also points out that the indebtedness of Germans in relation to income is among the lowest in the €-zone. This is because banks in Germany have always been very restrictive. Perhaps in individual cases, where the glass can be seen as both half full and half empty, decisions are now made somewhat more cautiously. But the lending policies have not been adjusted, as they were already very cautious anyway. This may be because there is no legally defined loan-to-value ratio abroad, and the colleagues in other countries almost always finance based on market value.