Construction costs are currently skyrocketing

You can also generate your hot water using a medium water heater for 200 euros and a few photovoltaic modules.

"Ich sinken". And these are, mind you, the asking prices. I would assume that a year ago many properties were sold higher than listed through bidding procedures. Now I would rather put a question mark behind that.

So I just looked at the evaluation of the Immoscout statistics on Wirtschaftswoche and for the Düsseldorf/Cologne region we are talking about a -0.1 to -0.4% price decline on AVERAGE for single-family homes. That means for me that new builds were probably traded even more expensively. You cannot lump the Kfw40 house together with the 1900s old building. I do not see any drama in the development now, quite the opposite.

I think one reason is also the extreme shortage/increase in energy costs. Grandma’s strongly dilapidated single-family home from the 70s is simply no longer such a hit.

Exactly, see above, the old villa with 4-meter high ceilings is now traded differently than the energy-efficient new build. People here in the forum who are currently building or have just finished building should watch the development relatively calmly. Especially since the Handelsblatt recently assumed a price increase of up to 20% for new builds in the next 2 years. That would not surprise me with the current inflation either.

Yes, of course the spread is large and young houses are mainly affected by interest rate increases and less by energy price increases. But they are also affected, if you cannot afford the payment it simply does not matter which house it is. And there are also few such houses on the market. I was also less concerned with young used ones and more with all the old houses for which almost any price was paid until recently.

... But they are also affected; if you can’t afford the rate, it simply doesn’t matter which house it is. ...

But how many loan defaults are we actually talking about here? I only ever read hypotheses about what would happen if and how terrible everything could get. So far, nothing has happened over many years, although this scenario has been cited for more than 10 years and everyone is just waiting to make the big bargains. Just like the rain has been forecast since last weekend, yet I still have to water the garden every day.

I get plenty of newsletters from real estate agents because I am still interested in the market, and I don’t see a collapse of the market there. As I said, here in the Rhineland region, according to the above-quoted statistics, it’s -0.1% to -0.4% on average across all years of construction, which already includes the renovation-needy old buildings that hardly anyone wants.

Even the Bundesbank, despite all warnings of a bubble, repeatedly confirms the robust financing of real estate loans granted here, which in no way compares to the conditions in the USA etc.

I don’t have to sugarcoat the market because I would also be happy to buy bargains for my retirement provision, but unfortunately I don’t see them coming... I have already built my house at a good rate and am diligently paying it off and am now also waiting for the big bargains for retirement provision. Only, unfortunately, I don’t see them...

I receive plenty of newsletters from real estate agents because I am still interested in the market and I do not see a collapse of the market. As I said, here in the Rhineland region, according to the above-cited statistics, it is -0.1% to -0.4% on average across all years of construction, and that already includes the renovation-needy old buildings that practically no one wants.

Why should there be one anyway? Living space is becoming increasingly scarce. Especially owning a home has long been a luxury. Yet one keeps reading surveys that consistently show 2/3 of Germans want to live in their own home. In Germany, no one really needs to be persuaded long to own a home.

I don’t need to sugarcoat the market because I would also be happy to buy bargains for my retirement provision, but unfortunately I don’t see them coming... I already built my house at a good price and am diligently paying it off and am now also waiting for the big bargains for my retirement provision. Only unfortunately I do not see them...

Please don’t take it personally, but that is exactly one of the central points of this whole mess. Why do you still want a property for retirement provision? There would be other possibilities. In my opinion, the problem here is that the so-called "free market" is used as a tax instrument in an area of basic human needs. Of course, the strong devour the weak. Or put another way: the wealthy own several properties and all others face old-age poverty in a rental apartment, which of course yields profits to someone else in some form.

Why should there be any? Living space is becoming increasingly scarce. Especially homeownership has long been a luxury. Nevertheless, you keep reading surveys that consistently show 2/3 of Germans want to live in their own home. In Germany, no one needs to be persuaded for long to buy a home. Please don't take it personally, but this is exactly one of the central points of the whole misery. Why do you still want a property for retirement provision? There are other possibilities for that. In my opinion, the problem here is that the so-called "free market" is used as a tax instrument in an area of fundamental human needs. Of course, the strong devour the weak there. Or put differently: wealthy people own multiple properties and everyone else faces old-age poverty in a rental apartment, which of course generates returns for someone else in some form.

The advantage of property as additional retirement security is that you can enjoy it for years and sell it in the end. Which is not possible, for example, with pure investments in stocks, etc.