Construction costs are currently skyrocketing

Yes. The developer is also stuck there. He has advanced the costs and must get rid of the properties. It’s nothing else but a clearance sale when the goods are sold off at a 70% discount because the warehouses need to be emptied and cash is needed for the next collection.

This wipes out the entire profit, that is, what the entrepreneur actually organizes the whole thing for. And that’s exactly why he only does this once. Afterwards, he only builds after the contract is signed.

But fundamentally? Building simply can’t get significantly cheaper. How would that be possible? Even during the boom, craftsmen didn’t earn a golden nose, and the general contractor might waive maybe 5% margin, but not 20%. If you don’t make a reasonable profit, you might as well give up and stay in bed in the morning...

Indeed, and especially shitty for the buyers from last winter 2022. They have now simply bought their overpriced shack in the small town at a price 30% too high. Just threw away 100,000 like that. I'm just glad that we built at the 2018 prices and some already thought we were crazy to pay so much. Now in 2023, we would pay 50% more for the same house and have the 4% interest rate on our backs. Then it would have been without a basement, without aluminum shutters, without a garage, and at least 30% smaller for us, and the floor-to-ceiling windows/the parquet would have gone, too. I wouldn't want to live like that. Did everything right. The buyers of the absurd post-Corona prices (from 2020) are of course really screwed. Bought just like that 30-50% above market value. And those who bought up to 2020 are the lucky winners in the real estate market. The best off are also all those who sold their 70s vintage shacks with oil heating at double the price. The buyers must be really pissed off while the sellers can't stop laughing.

But fundamentally? Building can't really become significantly cheaper. How should that happen?

Actually, it doesn't matter. Even today, the dream of owning a house is, for example, cheaper than in the 80s (or even the 90s). Inflation, construction costs, salaries, and interest rates are taken into account. Crazy, but true. As it was nicely stated recently in Handelsblatt: In the last 10 years, "people" were used to simply being able to build without having to make sacrifices. There is more than a grain of truth in this due to the steadily decreasing interest rates. Sacrifice was the magic word that no one knows anymore today. Sacrifice of living space. Sacrifice of large plots of land. Sacrifice of vacations. Sacrifice of a new iPhone every year. Sacrifice of three streaming providers. Sacrifice of the expensive new car (or even two, because you are a couple). And so on. In this respect, I’m starting to get tired of the whining about too high construction costs. Construction costs are NOT THE problem (yes, they have really risen sharply), the attitude of home builders is the real problem. Press Enter and be gone for the next 350 pages... ;-)

Yes, terrible. No garage? Does Amnesty already know about it?

Screwed and shafted... well...
My great-uncle was screwed because he had to go to the Eastern Front for 3 years. My grandfather was only 14 in 1945, so he was spared the war, at least the horror of the front.

That's just how it is. Some are lucky, some are unlucky.
But what I really don't like is malice ;)
You were lucky, be happy. But don't gossip about those who were not given that luck.

hm I think you misunderstood him. He’s actually preaching what you often do. That building doesn’t have to cost a million or more if you lower your demands and are willing to put in physical work. Or how he just renovates a nice old building and gradually makes it his home. That’s not the pampered ready-to-move-in-with-paving, terrace, roll lawn, and double rod mesh fence with plastic strips version. Yes, it’s tough and at some point you need a break in between. And yes, today I couldn’t build anymore, no matter how much physical work I’d still be willing to put in. But to be honest, I could have been more frugal in the last 10 years, could have bought a plot further out, could have sold my condominium at its peak and built smaller, and then it probably still would have been enough today. Often you just fail because of your own demands.

What do you mean by gossiping? I'm just describing reality. And quite factually and neutrally. And no, I didn’t just get lucky. Because many people told me back then that I would spend so much in 2018 and that prices would soon fall. I have no sympathy for those who now can’t afford financing. Because even if prices drop by 20 or 30%, the high interest rates really hit hard. And yes, if it comes to that, we’re all lucky to live in Germany anyway. But I agree with you on one thing. Today, in the new housing developments, I only see BMWs, the robotic lawnmower running, annual flights (even with small children), and quite often the delivery service driving by. Those who live like that and then complain that they can’t afford a house just need to tone it down a bit. The standard of living was affordable with 1% interest, but not anymore at 4%. Those who can’t do that simply shouldn’t build. And honestly, it was much harder to create homeownership in the 80s, but back then people didn’t build turnkey in one year, they did it themselves over three years. The terrace wasn’t landscaped by a garden landscaper (the word didn’t even exist then) but was done by themselves. The floor was insulated by themselves and they also did the flooring/painting work themselves. With a lot of sweat. Today unthinkable. It has to be turnkey, preferably with garden and landscaping. Doing things yourself is considered dumb. And less than 150 m2 is definitely not an option. The last 10 years were just exceptional years when you could build cheaply and afford a high standard of living. And yes I’m happy about that, but many others could have done the same. They don’t need to complain now.