Construction costs are currently skyrocketing

The increase compared to the previous month and all other months before (going back to summer '20) is likely related to the end of the Baukindergeld. Nobody buys property because they are bored.

And the 3% VAT, those who jumped in last year did everything right with the interest rates

No one buys property because they are bored.

But very much because he and the little children are going stir crazy.

I don't quite get it. Maybe I'm naive, but if wood is scarce and the wood companies still don't want to expand their capacities (due to some risk considerations), why is it then bad to promote investments? However, I would add something to ensure that the newly created capacities must first be supplied to the domestic market...

I find the whining and wailing about the evil Chinese and Americans and the greedy sellers rather funny - although we ourselves are building - since Germany normally imports cheaply at the expense of other countries - from tropical wood to food to nursing staff. ;) One should be very quiet with demands for protectionism.

There is some truth to that, although Germany's cheap exports actually weigh even more heavily (when dairy farmers in Africa cannot compete with German imported milk (1) despite support from aid organizations, something is really wrong)... Sources: (1): Deutsche Welle "Mit deutscher Milch gegen afrikanische Bauern"

I find the complaining and lamenting about the evil Chinese and Americans and the greedy sellers rather funny – even though we ourselves are building – since normally Germany imports cheaply at the expense of other countries – from tropical wood to food to care workers. ;) One should be very quiet with demands for protectionism.

Well: protectionism could be had very easily – simply multiply transport costs by at least a thousand. Then locally produced goods would become MUCH more interesting again – and at the same time jobs would be preserved/protected. Unfortunately, this does not work in practice: transport capacities are simply far too high – and are utilized to the max at all costs. Therefore, there are such nonsensical things as potatoes from New Zealand: solely for the reason that transport costs per unit tend towards zero. At the expense of the environment. Everyone wants everything – and as cheaply as possible: a vicious circle that will never work out. At least the environment is left behind. And much else besides. Unfortunately, state regulations do not work in the sense that all involved parties would have to cooperate: precisely that does not happen. We see it every day: from the beginning of the year asparagus and strawberries from Spain (from covered and extremely water-consuming indoor facilities!). Full of fungicides. And they are bought. Tropical wood: is bought because it's cheap. And so on and so forth. I think everyone must take themselves by the nose sometime. Cheap is not always inexpensive. And cheap is rarely sensible and/or sustainable. The cost screw in production did not exist only since VW-Lopez (even though he pushed it forward in car manufacturing). Cost and price suppression is only something fancy at first glance. The negative effects are far too often forgotten.