Construction costs are currently skyrocketing

I want to emphasize this once again. It’s not about everyone putting up a house at the "minimum standard." Those who can or want to afford it should please buy high-end and hire German craftsmen for everything. After all, the domestic market also benefits from this. The money has to circulate and shouldn’t just sit in savings accounts...

What concerns me are those who claim that building a house is never going to be affordable for most people anymore because you have to calculate from 3,000 EUR/sqm upwards and then prefer to stay in a rental flat in a 12-unit building because they think you can’t install tiles for 20 EUR/sqm or laminate in a home you own, but it must necessarily include marble, parquet, and Q4 walls professionally skimmed...

The grooves on the sanded and self-skimmed Q2 wall won’t even be noticeable after two weeks when the kids have first smeared it with chocolate fingers, not anymore... and when the first scratch appears on the parquet, you’re just glad you laid laminate upstairs.

And honestly. That’s how it ends up for many. I don’t know anyone in the entire new development area who has had parquet fully installed in their place... laminate and vinyl dominate, some maybe still have tiles...

And honestly. That's how it ends up for many. I don't know anyone in the entire new development area who had complete parquet flooring installed in their place... laminate and vinyl prevail, maybe some tiles for a few...

Apart from the fact that laminate is a no-go in new buildings around here (I don't know anyone who installs that plastic) and vinyl is used instead (and otherwise mostly tiles, actually), such "minor details" don't make building cheaper. Vinyl for €29.99 compared to parquet at €60 only makes a difference of €20/sqm in construction costs. What really helps with affordable building is not necessarily giving up (it's more about giving up living space to reduce the absolute costs to a tolerable level), but doing it yourself. If I can buy parquet for €35 and then also install it myself, I save a lot of money. Or buy the sanitary fixtures online myself and screw them to the wall. Etc.

Apart from the fact that laminate is a no-go in new buildings here with us (I also don't know anyone who installs this plastic) and instead vinyl is used (and otherwise mostly tiles, actually), such "small things" don't make building cheaper.

Just for my understanding, but in what way is vinyl (=polyvinyl chloride, aka PVC, which used to be those beautiful floors from the roll, but now glued onto a carrier material with a click system) of higher quality than laminate? The construction is generally very similar: top protective layer (e.g. polyurethane), decoration layer, HDF carrier board, backing/integrated impact sound insulation. In the end, the floors are very comparable and the quality differences depend more on the individual product (quality of the top protective layer, the printed decor) and less on whether PVC or some other "plastic" is used as an intermediate material. PVC has the advantage, however, that it is elastic and therefore feels more pleasant to the touch/when walking on it. By the way, prefinished click parquet is not so different, the decor layer with protective layer is replaced by a thin "real wood veneer" and usually treated with oil or sometimes lacquered for protection. Of course, I am happy to be corrected by building material experts, but that is my understanding of the building materials and thus also my incomprehension towards laminate flooring, which in my opinion is unfairly vilified (=fashion trend).

Just for my understanding, but in what way is vinyl (=polyvinyl chloride, aka PVC, those used to be these beautiful floors from the roll, but now glued onto a carrier material with a click system) higher quality than laminate?

Not at all. It’s just marketed better with "design flooring" and feels warmer underfoot or is easier to work with. Besides, there is significantly more variety, including in formats.

Lack of understanding towards laminate flooring, which in my opinion is unfairly demonized so much

Laminate looks and feels much more like hard plastic (and sounds like it, too, when you walk on it or drop something). And if you can buy this plastic for €3.95/sqm, the impression is reinforced that you’re just getting cheap hard plastic.

I installed XL country house oak parquet oiled from HORI myself for 18€ all inclusive (glue, baseboards) (116 sqm). It can be done differently if you want and install it yourself.

We had laminate flooring in the rental apartment. All the joints came apart and then you have an uneven floor and on top of that it also looks terribly ugly. Now in the new building, tiles downstairs and vinyl upstairs. In hindsight, I would probably also lay vinyl on the ground floor. It looks good, feels comfortable to walk on, and is warm. With laminate, my feet were always cold.