Bungalow with basement 120m²

We are planning a basement bungalow of 120-130m2. The whole thing is on a south/east slope with a height difference of 1.6m over 10m. The basement is therefore completely "outside" on one long side, which is why it is partially used as living space (entrance, office, utility room, WC) and heated. Double garage and storage for bicycles... are also in the basement but unheated (about 1/2 of the basement area). The house is planned with 25cm brick, 20cm thermal insulation. 20-degree hip roof. Geothermal heat pump with ground collectors, triple-glazed windows, shading everywhere (partly electric venetian blinds, partly roller blinds), insect screen blinds everywhere. No frills throughout the whole house. Nevertheless, our general contractor offers are between 330-350 thousand euros ready for finishing (floors, interior doors, painting are still missing). We are building in Austria, but I have the impression that this does not make a very big difference. It all seems extremely expensive to me. What do you think?

Hello,

if I assume about 125 sqm/living space, I come almost to the same values. However, the additional foundation extra costs due to the hillside location as well as the incidental construction costs are not yet taken into account. A bungalow is already more expensive than a "normal" single-family house – with a hillside location, an even bigger "bite" is added.

.... deshalb teilweise als Wohnraum genutzt (Eingang, Büro, Hauswirtschaftsraum, Wc) und beheizt.

Just these items alone are likely to be in the range of EUR 25-30 thousand. A WC in the basement sounds so cute – but you need a macerator, because you have to drain below the basement ceiling – I assume it's no different in Austria. That means the waste has to be crushed first and then pumped upwards. That really costs euros.

Trotzdem sind unser Generalunternehmerangebote zw. 330-350TEUR belagsfertig (Böden, Innentüren, Maler fehlen noch).

Interior doors are rather unusual – is that common for you?

Mir kommt das alles extrem teuer vor. Was sagt ihr dazu?

No, it is not – the values correspond to a medium standard.

Building a house has always been expensive; today – at times when people still convert to the Deutsche Mark (or you to Schilling) – it only seems "more expensive" because exchange rates are still in people's minds. Everyone conveniently forgets that – if we still had the Deutsche Mark/Schilling today – prices in the old currencies would also have risen sharply. Everything the people in Brussels come up with or any union round has an impact on prices. It always pleases the observer for the people, e.g. in construction – but on the other hand it also means that the employers pass on the prices. The same applies to taxes and many other things.

When I think that in 2001 I still paid DM 2.80 for a 0.25 l beer and today this little tab on the lid easily means €1.80, I sometimes lose my appetite for a fresh Altbier on tap – but I also don’t like that cheap slop :-( But that's just how it is – we won’t be able to change it – what used to correspond to the DM (the Schilling) today corresponds (almost) 1:1 to the euro. On the other hand – and this is my firm conviction – the DM today would be at the same value level

Best regards

When I think that in 2001 I still paid DM 2.80 for a 0.25 l beer and today this small line on the lid easily means €1.80, sometimes I lose my appetite for a fresh Alt from the tap - but I also don't like this cheap swill :-( But that's just how it is - we won't be able to change it - what used to correspond to the DM (the Schilling) now corresponds (almost) 1:1 to the Euro. On the other hand - and this is my firm conviction - the DM today would be at the same value level

No wonder. With 2% annual inflation, due to compound interest effect after 20 years you are already at 150% of the original price. With 3% annual inflation you are at 180%. Since some products have also decreased in price (e.g. computer technology) or remained almost the same, the price increase for many products is likely higher than the average inflation of 1.5-2% and accordingly costs almost twice as much.

By the way, inflation was by far higher in the DM era.

With us, "ready for flooring" usually means without floors, interior doors, and painting. But of course, you always have to look carefully! I've never heard of [Häckselwerk], it's probably not common here. The basement is half exposed from the slope anyway, and the sewer goes downward. Shading and insect protection cost about 11,000 EUR, but I can't do without them. I also don't know exactly where I could save a lot more. A 140-150m2 house with 2 full stories and a basement probably wouldn't be much cheaper, and then I would still need a carport and possibly a patio roof as well.