Construction costs are currently skyrocketing

Such loans (1% interest, 1% repayment over 10 years) were hardly ever taken out because it was and is completely nonsensical. This issue keeps being brought up to keep the hope alive of snagging foreclosure bargains for those who didn't dare to build during the low-interest phase...

But even if that were the case. Salaries have risen by 25% since 2012, while house prices in many regions have doubled since then. So, you don't have to finance an average of 350,000-400,000 EUR, as is probably common today, but only 175,000-200,000 EUR. That shouldn't be a problem even at 4%...

I can understand the impatience on the sidelines. But the big wave of personal bankruptcies among homeowners will not come. Because people will first severely restrict themselves to keep the house. After all, you don't just lose money but also your "home". And banks are open to negotiations. The risk of having to foreclose a house built in 2012 with a gas heating system is far from zero. And the bank will never get more in the end than what it is owed. Any surplus from the sale goes to the former owner.

Anyway... in such foreclosures, only houses that no one wants even for free go as bargains. In good locations, with solid quality, the bidders push prices into ranges where you might as well buy on the open market.

The price of wood has currently fallen sharply again. Does anyone have any indications whether this is reflected in timber construction? Are the prices for prefabricated houses going down? After all, wood now costs only half or even less compared to last year.

How high is the share of pure material costs for wood in the prefabricated house? So really just the raw material, without transport, treatment, manufacturing, etc. 5% of the total amount?

The expensive part of the plastic spoon is not the material, but the production, transport, packaging, etc.

Such loans (1% interest, 1% repayment over 10 years) were hardly taken out by anyone because it was and is completely nonsensical. This nonsense keeps being spread to keep the hope of foreclosure bargains alive among those who did not dare to build during the low-interest phase... But even if so. Salaries have risen by 25% since 2012, house prices in many regions have doubled since then. So one does not have to finance on average 350-400,000 EUR as is probably common today, but only 175-200,000 EUR. That should not be a problem even at 4%... I can understand the impatience on the sidelines. But the big wave of private insolvencies among homeowners will not come. Because one first massively restricts oneself to keep the house. You don't just lose money, but also "home". And banks are also willing to negotiate. The risk of having to foreclose a house built in 2012 with a gas heating system is by no means zero. And the bank never gets more in the end than what it is entitled to. The surplus from the sale goes to the former owner. Anyway... in such foreclosures, only houses that one wouldn't want even as a gift go as bargains. In good locations, with solid quality, bidders push prices to levels where you might as well buy on the market.

Unfortunately, more people took out such loans than one would think. It was primarily about acquiring one's own property at all costs. Some financed through credit brokers who somehow made the whole thing look good despite low income. And if the entire property was not financed that way, many of the 100% financers still took at least one large KfW component with 3 years of repayment-free period and 10 years fixed interest. Some, however, also gambled independently of the financing. In our circle of acquaintances, several families bought older houses from the 70s and 80s. The financing money barely covered the house; renovation was planned to be funded from ongoing income. Then electricity and heating costs exploded. If electricity and gas suddenly cost 400 euros more together, that is a massive problem. Combined with the knowledge that the fixed interest period of individual or all financing components expires in a few years, it can become a really big burden.

Some people also gambled independently of the financing. In our circle of acquaintances, several families bought existing houses from the 70s and 80s. The money from the financing was just enough for the house, renovation was planned to come from ongoing funds.

As someone who originally wanted to buy an existing property, my sympathy is limited. As a prospective buyer with a somewhat reasonable calculation and partial renovation factored in, you were outbid by exactly these people. It has been completely foreseeable in recent years that renovation would come and that energy prices would rise. Anyone who believed they could manage a somewhat serious renovation from their current salary deceived themselves.

As someone who originally wanted to buy an existing property, my sympathy is limited. As a prospective buyer with a reasonably sensible calculation and partial renovation factored in, one was outbid by exactly these people. It has been completely foreseeable in recent years that the renovation would come and that energy prices would rise. Anyone who believed they could finance a reasonably serious renovation from their current salary deceived themselves.

That is exactly how we saw and see it as well. And that is why we decided against such a house and are truly glad about it.