Building with or without a basement in Southern Germany - experiences?

I do like basements. But if you don't have a hillside property, you don't have to. It's also significantly cheaper since earth disposal costs in the South are skyrocketing and hard to estimate. Better to build a few square meters above ground instead. Even here in the South, many houses are now being built without basements. Mostly prefabricated houses.

Therefore, my question goes to the experienced house builders without a basement in southern Germany.

This also concerns the north; we are just not as conservative as those in the south

Do you miss anything?

No, compensatory area must be available. Utility room, freezer room, possibly built-in cabinets...

Are you afraid of a possible resale value?

No.

If you don't want one, then don't have one. If you find a hillside plot, you can design the basement as a living level. The secondary rooms then in the slope.

I hate basements too. I feel cluttered, want nice bright rooms everywhere with a place to stay. That works with planning.
I am happy now. And you will be too

You guys are really sweet.

Has anyone actually ever done the math for themselves?

Assumption approx. 150-160 m² net living space + single or double garage

Option A: Increase living space to approx. 180-190 m² + slab foundation + storage room behind the garage - minus earthworks costs for basement excavation

Option B: smaller above-ground living space (= lower construction costs) + basement costs + earthworks costs - less storage space behind the garage

I imagine (!) Option A should be cheaper for me, since I simply don’t need an 80 m² basement, but a partial basement is even less economical. How much does one sqm of basement including earthworks costs actually cost?

When I think about everything I have in our basement room, I could easily fit it into the planned utility rooms. Storage space would still be planned under the stairs and a built-in closet in the upper hallway.

Although I am still looking for a plot, of course I am already thinking about it. [...] Are you afraid of a possible resale value?

Without a plot, you are basically doing the calculation without the key factor; the plot has a big say in this. In case someone does not yet know my two-part rule of thumb by heart: 1. supporting a slab on grade by means of terrain modeling and retaining walls is factually and financially a comparable effort as if you manage this task in the classic way with a basement; 2. for about every 20 cm of height difference (within the footprint), about ten percent of cellar costs are incurred (see 1. for both built and unbuilt basements equally). Taking into account side effects (such as saved floor space ratio for side rooms swept under the carpet), I see that around 140 cm of height difference in the (usable) building window makes a no-basement option commercially nonsense. BW is not BY, the traditions are not that strictly followed after all, and for the market value of the property the above-ground cellar replacement room only harms if it negatively affects the floor space ratio due to the terrace, conservatory, or the like. If your plot does not stand in the way, I would tend to say: with a pantry and utility room above ground, I would actually avoid building a cellar just for the heating boiler.

a partial basement is even less economical.

A three-quarter basement is nonsense, a half-basement costs three quarters. Several mini-basement manufacturers have told me that they sell those almost only in Stuttgart and Munich—that is, only where every above-ground square meter of house connection space is scrimped on—otherwise it would not be economically viable.

Well, I don't know it any other way than with a basement.

Even in the current planning, a basement is being planned. My wish here is simply to have a nice area for my hobbies and collecting passion. I also want to have my workshop in the basement again in the future. Since I am not planning alone, there are certainly other ideas as well.

But you already mentioned at the beginning that you actually don't like basements. Then I would implement it exactly like that. Just because it is lived that way in the family is no reason to do the same.

That's just my opinion.

Best regards

The plot of land I might apply for is located in a rural community on a plateau of the Alb. The current new development area offers only flat plots.