Construction costs are currently skyrocketing

But these values do not include inflation, do they? In the first case, that would be 3.05% more per year, assuming an average inflation rate (2013-2022) of 3.1%, there was not a single euro increase in income per year during this time. Well, if you consider 2022 with 7.9% as an "outlier," it would be only 1.4% for 2013-2021. Then it is about 1.6% wage growth for this period.

That's right! No inflation adjustment + x after all. In this respect, the high interest rates are having quite a severe impact. I still think that houses where the financing was tight won't be flooding the market now. On the one hand, sacrifices will be made elsewhere, on the other hand, banks will in many cases find ways, as they probably currently have little interest in forced auctions. In my area, neither the portals nor the realtors are being flooded.

And there are certainly some who have chosen a low repayment rate but then invested money elsewhere. That will be deducted first as well. Anyone who is building or has built a house is obviously not a low earner and usually also has more potential savings. Many were able to put up a house without having to give up anything else or change their consumer behavior.

My colleague is building right now. Both are educators, one salary is currently being saved completely. That will later go towards the house, and in the first few years there will always be one thing or another that is still needed. The financing somehow runs over 35 years. That will settle there (provided other things don’t intervene).

My neighbor ordered his garden shed the other day

In 03/2020 he had saved an obi ad because he already knew back then which shed it was supposed to be

It cost 799€ back then
Is supposed to cost 3499€ now
Means the same and same article number

Surely it's an outlier I think but really extreme how much difference that makes, he actually ordered a different one now haha :D

Our washbasin (Artis from Villeroy & Boch) cost exactly €239 for the first house in 2020, when I started putting the bathrooms together for this house it was already €299, now it is €359. Same shop, same item, same version. o_O

Now I looked it up because I was interested.

Public service, TV-L E10, level 1
2013
2728.71

2022
3523.62
+30.5%

IG Metall tariff for NRW Pay group EG 10 at 100%
2013 2,964.00
2023 3,603.00
+21%

So much for your "easily 40 percent". Since tax tables rarely keep pace with inflation, you can assume that net income nominally has only grown by about 25% or 15%. And these are collectively agreed wages, with a union behind them!

A lot of the IG Metall increase came through special payments that are not included in the table wages. IG Metall members are already the top earners among employees in Germany anyway.

As someone else wrote here, I also think that high earners who could afford a house are smart enough to use some kind of inflation compensation. Ergo, job changes or wage demands.

Otherwise, they would be dead broke today if they had 40 percent higher expenses than back then without salary increases and wouldn't even be able to afford the payments from back then. That somehow doesn't make sense to me.