Assessment of financing scope with 4620 euros net

This will be a completely normal rent in 30-40 years if rents continue to rise as they have in recent years (between 3-5%). With an apartment that still costs a comfortable 650 euros today, thanks to compound interest it will be 1,577 euros in 2052.
So it must be affordable on an average pension.

Rather unlikely. In the long term, rents cannot outpace net incomes, otherwise there would be unrest and political countermeasures. After all, everyone has to live somewhere. Whether those measures are all effective is, of course, another question. The rent cap in Berlin apparently mainly led to people selling condominiums instead of renting them out. Or simply leaving them vacant for speculative reasons...

But regardless of that, demography also plays a role. Unless Corona has triggered a new baby boom or we get massively more immigration, the population in Germany will shrink. Supply will not decrease at first, demand will, which tends to lead to falling prices. Of course, this will not affect all regions equally. Depending on what happens economically, we will certainly experience unexpected boom regions as well. But overall, over the next 30 years we will most likely not see the increases of recent years.

With an income of just under 5k, it somehow bothers me that you have to finance the car yourself. If the equity were invested somewhere at the same time, that would be okay for me again. During my studies, I somehow spent money on clothes, parties, and stuff as if there were no tomorrow. But at some point, you do grow up ;)

Thanks in advance for the answers :)

I only started my training very late, before that I didn’t earn money, rather made debts (Bafög). But all of it has already been paid back. Later, I studied part-time (10k). Long periods in short-time work and without a job. The car is half paid in cash, the rest as a loan. It can be sold for about 18k, but here that would just be a drop in the ocean ;)

@Clothes: I added it up, in 2021 it was €427.95 (just for me), so rather €36/month + X€ for my wife :D

Of course, repairs and small stuff come on top, but I can’t calculate that because we don’t keep a household budget. The only reliable data/numbers I have come from the Finanzguru app.

Just to make sure I understood correctly, a resale property for around 400k wouldn’t be feasible, right? Even with, let’s say, realistically saved equity of 50k? And also not a standard semi-detached house with 260m2?

I just don’t understand how acquaintances can afford 650k houses with zero equity, 1200€ installment ‍:rolleyes:

Just to make sure I understood correctly, an existing property for around 400k wouldn't be feasible either, right? Even with, let's say, realistically saved own capital of 50k? And also not a standard semi-detached house with 260m2?

I don't know your area in detail, but if the plots already cost 400€, then there will hardly be any bargains on the existing market. The big problem with existing properties in hot markets is that you are always outbid by someone who underestimates the renovation costs.

I just don't understand how acquaintances can afford 650k houses with 0 equity, 1200€ installment ‍:rolleyes:

Sounds like financial kamikaze. Anyone who wants to finance irresponsibly will always find a broker who makes it possible. We have already had enough examples of this in the forum. A healthy financing, with which you can also sleep at night, requires significantly higher installments and equity.

one keeps hearing the argument of demographics. But what this line of reasoning overlooks are social and medical developments. Firstly, fewer and fewer people live on more square meters. Secondly, people are living longer. Nevertheless, of course there will be vacancies, but mainly in regions already affected by rural exodus. This has zero impact on average rents in metropolitan areas. Corona caused a bit of chaos there, but that affects property prices more than rents. And they tend to rise faster in rural areas than they fall in metropolitan regions. For this reason, my crystal ball says that things will continue just like this for at least the next 50-60 years. And no, rents are not outpacing net incomes. They rise nominally more or less in parallel. Real wages stagnate or will then slightly decrease because energy and other living costs are getting more expensive. But I still see a lot of buffer when you look at all the organic stores and hipster joints.

@Klamotten: I added it up, in 2021 it was €427.95 (just for me), so rather €36/month + X€ for my wife :D

So, assuming your wife spends a similar amount on clothes (for us it’s more, even though I’m not really a shopping queen), you two together would be around €70.

Sure, repairs and little things come on top, but I can’t calculate it because we don’t keep a household budget.

That’s a misconception. Just because you don’t know the total amount doesn’t mean it’s not there. It’s important to think about such things. What do I need, what can I do without, what do I realistically really have left. Rationalizing it only makes you unhappy in the long run. I know an older couple who lived for decades only for the house. Nothing else was enough. The house is theirs now, but the marriage is in the gutter and life wasn’t nice. :/

Just to be sure I understood correctly, a resale property for around 400k wouldn’t be feasible either, right? Even with, say, realistically saved equity of 50k? And also not some standard semi-detached house with 260m2?

For a resale property at 400k I would have a lot more imagination. You’d have to calculate it.

I just don’t understand how acquaintances can afford €650k houses with zero equity, €1200 rent ‍:rolleyes:

That’s either a lie or borrowed money. ;) So if they were financed like that, then the €650k place won’t be theirs when they retire anyway. It’s a shaky deal on stilts. If their fixed interest period runs out at that sum & installment and interest rates are a few % higher then, it’ll break their necks and the house is gone.

Regardless of interest rates or future market developments, unfortunately one thing must be acknowledged.
Owning a house, apartment, etc. has become a luxury good.
When I talk to my parents, this used to be standard!
But the standard was more or less (30 years ago) that you simply built your house yourself. Yes, with 9% interest rates, the financial world is somewhat shifted.
If with just under 5k net your own place is no longer feasible, I would basically want to emigrate.
But there are always possibilities – the question is the following:
What effort are you personally willing to pay?!
Is it your immeasurable dream?
Then invest your energy and convert it into your own labor. On [YouTube] there is now bundled experience that one would have dreamed of 20 years ago.
Invest 2 years of time (3-4000 effective working hours), build the 150m2 house (yes, for 1400€/m2 you can build in [EL]) and in 15 years you will laugh about it.

But the first 5-10 years will be unbelievably hard – you should be aware of that.
You can also build a house now for 200k. But you have to want it.