Construction costs are currently skyrocketing

I have definitely seen quite a few floor plans like that here. There are hallways the size of apartments, cat rooms, home cinemas, and similar things planned. Or rooms are simply generously sized, for example 25 sqm kitchens in huge open-plan spaces. I can count on one hand the cases of a family with 5 children who actually need that space in my nearly 2 years here in the forum. For everyone else, as already said, it is simply luxury, not a real need. By the way, these uses are also relatively independent of age and children.

Especially if I had 5 children, I would need a small house of my own...

I know more people who have money and say "...the roof, we won't do that anymore either...." Because larger sums are rather invested in caravans and cruises.

On the other hand, many retirees let their houses fall into disrepair because their pension is not enough to maintain them.

I know more people who have money and say "...the roof, we won’t do that anymore either...." Because larger sums are rather spent on caravans and cruises.

One group of retirees cannot carry out extensive renovations, another part does not want to and spends the money on their own nice things. Everyone as they wish!

No one said that this forward-looking option is free of charge. And no one claimed that this option is easy to implement. But some users have already provided their examples of this way of thinking.

In particular, politics should think goal- and practice-oriented or act in the interest of the population. If these impractical "ideas" from the example remain only theories and/or can be put into practice by only a tiny fraction of the population, then it is misguided politics that only contributes to amusement and very quickly ends up in the "blabla drawer." The examples given by the users can be counted on one hand, whereby I assume and claim that they will certainly have their "aha experience" once the time comes to put the theory into practice.... In other words: having taken your own "preparatory measures" is nice, but whether these later prove to be correct and/or comply with all construction technical and legal requirements is probably another matter.

Today the email from the GU with the price increases arrived:

Steel: 6.2k (12.8t)
Windows: 766€
Insulation: 845€

I will have the steel price explained to me in more detail again, but I think it will stay that way. The other two are completely okay. For the remaining trades, we are below 5% and therefore there will be no price adjustment :-)
Possibly the carpenter will come with a few percent, but all in all we find that very reasonable considering that we received the offer in late autumn 2021.