Buy now or wait a little longer?

General information about you:

[*]Who are you? 36(m) and 34(f) married
[*]Do you have children? 3 children (2, 5, 7 years)
[*]Are more children planned? no
[*]What do you do professionally? He: civil servant on probation / She: trainee in public service
[*]How many hours do you work? He: full-time, She: 90%
[*]Special feature professional situation:
He: still 1 1/2 years civil servant on probation
She: limited by trainee program until June 2027, afterwards permanent civil servant employment

Income and asset situation:

[*]What income do you have (gross/net)? He: 5,500 net / She: 2,200 net + 13th monthly salary each
[*]How much equity do you have? approx. 250k
[*]How much equity do you want to put into the house project? 180k
[*]Other income:
[*]13th monthly salary each
[*]750 euros child benefit

Desired house:

Plot costs around 400k+ ancillary costs and we have no concrete price info for the house yet.
We imagine a house with 6 rooms (home office unfortunately needed) and about 160 sqm.


Expense situation:

Rent: currently 1500 euros warm
Daycare/trips/children’s courses: 500 euros
Groceries and drugstore: 800 euros
Insurance/phone/internet etc.: 150 euros
Vacation: 500 euros
Clothes/toys/school: 200 euros

Motivation of the post/question:

We live in Berlin-Pankow. The standard ground value at the preferred place of residence is about 500€-700€ (of course up to 1300€, but that is not an option for us).
We are now wondering how to proceed best regarding our current financial situation.
I have stated expenses very generously, also considering the growing needs of the children. Currently, we can always set aside 3,500-4,000€ per month. We would like to build a house because we live cramped and a suitable apartment here starts at around 2,700 € warm per month, and we would rather invest the money in a house.
Since I am currently employed on a fixed-term contract and he is only a civil servant on probation, we are wondering whether it would be sensible to wait with the house construction, save a further buffer and start financing with better work conditions and then also a higher salary. However, everything does not get cheaper and we also pay the rent.
As plots are scarce here, we are also considering buying a plot first (if we can "get" one) and then building the house on it later.
What would you recommend to us in the current situation.

Many thanks in advance for your suggestions :)

I suspect the bank will find it much easier to give you the loan if you are both civil servants...

If you want to invest 1000k, why not.

A loan of 800k also needs to be serviced. Monthly payment about 3.3k?

No, actually we do not want to spend 1 million euros just for a house. Unfortunately, the plots here are all so expensive and it does not make sense to build a small house if we want to move out of our too small apartment. Therefore, we have simply assumed that we have to. I am happy to receive suggestions/ proposals on how we can build more cheaply. Since we have our social networks here, we want to stay in this region.

In your position, I would go to a financing advisor to see what they say about the probationary civil servant etc.

Buying a plot of land now to build on it later cannot be wrong if there is no time limit for construction.
However, there is already somehow a 1 in front of 6 digits, so a million, which I would respect more than just a little in your position.

I have stated the expenses very generously also with regard to the increasing needs of the children.

I have to swallow a bit here.
You have generously named the child & family costs (fun costs), but where is the rest?
Additional costs, mobility costs, .. I also find the insurances somewhat sparse.

Rent: currently 1500 euros warm
Daycare / excursions / children's courses: 500 euros
Groceries and drugstore: 800 euros
Insurance / telephone / internet and co: 150 euros
Vacation: 500 euros
Clothes / toys / school: 200 euros

With two lifetime civil servant statuses and children aged 4, 6, and 9 years in 2027, this is your most favorable time to move into a semi-detached house as your first own home. In and around Berlin, the nearest "usual suspect" is Brale, currently with a project in 15741 Bestensee (Amselweg/Stichweg). These are Anstattvilla (II + tent roof) semi-detached houses with 140 sqm. Just for viewing, with a third child and especially with home office, the classic model II+D with 140/145 sqm fits better for you, where the master bedroom can move into the attic studio (SD35/38) if K2 and K3 are also to have separate rooms. Reference properties in Bestensee, Johannisthal, Pankow, and Petershagen give you an idea of what the current projects of this provider might look like in two years. Such intermediate houses (Yvonne calls them "starter properties") are ideal for young families without a lottery win, whose children are well provided with playmates there. It will fit until K1 goes to university. The same in green is also available from Weisenburger / Wengerter / Werner, but in your area Brale is the dominant player.