Construction costs are currently skyrocketing

Is it Jeld-Wen or Hörmann or another company?

The first of the two. Currently, it looks like the large commercial construction (e.g., hotels, office complexes) is completely at a standstill. In the private sector, very little is happening as well, mostly through hardware stores.

However, it must also be said fairly that the industry has been growing constantly for about ten years and has achieved new sales records.

How much margin do you think a craftsman makes who works for the big or even small general contractors or property developers? Two years ago, when the first civil engineers came to our area, I talked to one. He already said back then that he only works for architects or directly for clients; with the big ones, he has to bring money. So, there isn’t much to get. And with the general contractor? If they make 20% now and go down to 15%... then you save 5% on the house. So on the total construction cost including the land, 2 or 3%. Less margin usually also means that employees are paid worse. Because do you think the boss saves on himself until he can only drive a Polo? Then it’s better to forget it...

Where has the money gone in the last 10-15 years? They’re all pretty good at whining, that’s nothing new yet. That’s what it’s because of:

But to be fair, the industry grew constantly for about ten years and achieved new revenue records.

Then it will probably have to shrink healthily again and that on all levels.

With the craftsmen, the money definitely didn't stick, especially not with the journeymen.

Then one will probably have to shrink healthily again, and that on all levels.

This is already happening to some extent - price increases after the madness of 2022 are now at a very low level, I've already seen "only" 1-2% - so the surcharges of the past years have to be pulled back, and ultimately this is just the beginning.

The money certainly didn't stick with the craftsmen, especially not with the journeymen.

Certainly not with the journeymen, no. But with the boss, yes. Because it has always been the case that in the trades you can earn very good money, but you must not be a craftsman.

Yesterday, I cycled through a new development area from 2020 that I last saw in mid-2022. At that time, 7-8 houses were under construction and about 30 were completed. These 7-8 houses were now all finished except for some landscaping. However, no new construction projects had started. So there wasn't a single shell construction to be seen, only a lot of grass about 1.5 meters high growing wildly. I see that as proof of the decline in construction. Since 2020, 15 houses had been started there every year. A resident said that the municipality has not been taking back plots for a long time and intends to sue several builders whose deadlines for the start of construction are about to expire. They simply can't sell the plots anymore. I found that pretty intense.