Construction costs are currently skyrocketing

Zoe is also a small car and 2 tons is already a lot. Most larger cars are also around 2.5 tons. Of course, there can still be technical improvements, but at the same time more weight can also be packed into the cars. I would roughly estimate about 400 kilos more than similarly sized combustion engines as a rule of thumb.

Yes, of course, they have to be heavier, but this is often compensated by smaller additional loads, so that it doesn't make too much of a difference. And I think that is also one reason why there are so many E-models for which trailer hitches are not even available as an option.

It is worthwhile, but only to a limited extent even for people who like to do things themselves. If I need 10 tons of gravel or 6 tons of lawn edging stones plus paving, I can either drive to the building materials dealer 5 or 3 times respectively... even with a simple distance of 10 km, that takes hours upon hours. Or I have the stuff delivered; a truck comes, dumps the stuff or places it down. That costs money, of course, but my time is not free either, and the car that I drive back and forth multiple times also costs money... not just fuel. The building materials dealer is also only open during normal weekday hours, so I would have to take vacation or overtime for that.

For our move with 45m³ over 150km, we paid just under 1,800 EUR in May 2020. Since I am only allowed to drive 3.5t, we would have needed at least 3 trips with a Sprinter... so 3 days of vehicle rental, loading in A in the morning with helpers, unloading in B in the afternoon with helpers. Some helpers would have had to commute for 3 days, which costs money again. And at least one cabinet always gets damaged in such a DIY-helper move, plus dents in the stairwell and new/old apartment...

Doing the work yourself is worthwhile, yes. But not if you waste the time transporting material, which the professionals can deliver in larger quantities much more cheaply.

Yes, with rubble you simply reach the weight limit too quickly, insulation and wood very quickly reach the space limit. That's why I find an open flatbed so practical. With that, you can often go much further with wood and light building materials. I wouldn't call made-up hours overtime. Without my trust-based working time regulation, the construction wouldn't have worked out or would have become much more expensive. But I can also work well late in the evening, when everyone is already in bed, you can get a lot done or plan much more concentrated. During normal office hours, I'm almost always in meetings/calls anyway, and if there is a little time, it's spent answering questions and gathering information. But yes, that is individual and everyone has to consider it for themselves and then honestly assess it.

however, this is often solved by a smaller additional load so that it doesn't make too much of a difference.

Although that is at most cheating the customer and can cause serious trouble during inspections. Not all countries are as sensitive about overloading as Germany.

Doing it yourself is worthwhile, yes. But not if you waste time transporting material that the professionals can deliver in larger quantities much cheaper.

The question is always whether you have the larger quantities. For the garden shed foundation, I needed 20m of curbstones, paving slabs for 15 sqm, 2t of concrete gravel, 10 bags of cement, 10t of crushed stone, 1t of 2/5 grit, joint grit. You round 10t of crushed stone up to a three-axle truck and have it delivered. You can either buy joint grit as 2 bags or get a trailer full at the same price from the gravel plant. For curbstones, paving slabs, and cement, delivery by freight forwarder almost costs as much as the material. The same problem occurs with 2t of concrete gravel, because you always pay transport costs for the full truck at the gravel plant, regardless of how much you actually ordered.

As for the move, I've been taking boxes with me for a while when I go to the construction site. Currently, they are piling up in the garden shed; soon some can also go to the attic. The plan is that on the actual moving day, we only transport the furniture; one trip will be tight, but two trips should be quite enough. At 150 km, it looks different, it has to work with one trip.

Here in the Bavarian hinterland, a new construction project for a turnkey KFW40 semi-detached house with 158 m2 of living space and 450 m2 plot size has been listed today for €420,000, a carport with storage room would be available for an additional €25,000. This corresponds to about €2700/m2 including land, foundation, etc. If you assume €100/m2 for the land, then it is even only €2374/m2 for timber frame construction with a good standard...

Are these the first failed financings? There are also increasingly unfinished buildings for sale on the portals.

We still have great difficulties finding a suitable plot or a suitable existing property.