Construction costs are currently skyrocketing

You only need the ski jackets from around Christmas to Easter. For that time, the demand for shorts is rather low.

Offtopic, but are there actually people who put their shorts (substituting for any kind of "seasonal clothing") up in the attic during winter? Ski pants and ski jackets (if they are explicitly used only for that) okay, those are bulky too. But I’m not going to start digging out my sneaker socks from the drawer just so more of the knitted socks will fit in there...

The question is... do you lack living space or storage space? Using living space as storage space is pretty expensive. Instead of enlarging the house's footprint, you can also go upwards and plan a large attic as storage space. You only need the ski jackets from around Christmas to Easter. During that time, the need for shorts is rather low. Most people only use the raclette grill on New Year's Eve and the Christmas baubles only for 2 weeks a year. A lot can disappear into the attic.

Well, let's be honest, we generally don't lack anything. Even with 120 m², we don't lack anything, if you want to see it that way, yet hardly anyone builds that small. But there is a reason why millionaires live in villas and not in modest 120 m² houses. Need and like are two different things, and we all like more than we need. ;) For example, I have a fairly large kitchen in the current house. But I don't have an unlimited amount of stuff in the kitchen. However, I enjoy - EVERY single day - that nothing in my kitchen is stacked one on top of the other or behind something else. I never have to dig anything out from the back or bottom. Even my Tupperware drawer is tidy and everything is immediately accessible. That brings me great joy in everyday life, and joy is the one thing we all pursue. My sister, in complete contrast to me, probably has about 200 dish towels in her drawer, because she likes to buy new things but doesn't throw anything away as long as it's still usable. That would drive me crazy, but it makes her happy. That's how different we humans are.

Offtopic, but are there really people who store their shorts (as a stand-in for any kind of "seasonal clothing") in the attic during winter? Ski pants and ski jacket (if used exclusively for that) okay, they are bulky. But I’m not going to start digging out my sneaker socks from the drawer just so there’s more room for the knitted socks...

Yes, at least when it comes to shoes. Boots and sandals end up on the floor alternately.

Offtopic, but are there really people who put their shorts (standing in for any kind of "seasonal clothing") up in the attic during winter?

I vaguely remember that things were regularly rearranged when I was a child. Although into the basement or the knee wall storage (no attic existed). I wouldn't do that with sneaker socks now either, apart from the fact that I need them almost year-round for sports, they're simply too small.

Well, let's be honest, we generally don’t lack anything. Even with 120 sqm, you don’t lack anything, if you look at it that way, yet hardly anyone builds that small. But there’s a reason why millionaires live in villas and not in modest 120 sqm houses. Because need and like are two different things, and we all like more than we need. ;)

Well, maybe your neighbor is a millionaire and just doesn’t show it? It’s not as rare as you might think, because inconspicuous wealth keeps beggars away. Even a plain Golf or Passat can nowadays be dressed up as a luxury car, but remains nicely unobtrusive.

In the end, space is not just space. Apart from the fact that the jump from 8 to 10 sqm in a room is quite different than from 18 to 20 sqm, every room also has a different importance. Your hallway is a good example. You plan about as much hallway as we currently have as an apartment. But hallways have little living value; you just walk through them to get from A to B. A big hallway makes the house look more representative, but whether it’s 2m or 4m wide hardly makes a difference in everyday life. Rather the opposite, you also have to clean the big hallway (or pay someone for it). It’s similar with storage space. Of course, you want to have everything you use regularly close at hand without having to put other things away. But even there, there are differences. I need the car tires exactly twice a year, and a tire change takes a few minutes anyway, so it’s no problem if I have to push the bikes aside beforehand. I need the skis more often in season (and mostly at 6 a.m…), which is a bit annoying. I need the bike every day; it has to be readily accessible without effort.

Complete agreement. Anyone who wants to build "beautifully" has needed the necessary money, inheritance, or monster EL for over 100 years now. Anyone who just wants to feel comfortable in their own property could always do so and can still do so – as an average earner or also with EL, but then with different expectations (you can see it here in the forum – there is also a dream house thread ==> people feel comfortable there too and not like second-class builders).

This is also often done here. But it doesn’t feel any different once you live in it ;) It’s mine and stays mine, no matter what name is on it.

And finally:

Here they are again, the desires that make building expensive – I want a heat pump, a combined heat and power plant just isn’t an option. Not just one parking space, but several are named. Don’t take it personally, but it’s exactly this way of thinking that makes houses more expensive. The average earner just wants to have their own property. No discussion about efficiency differences between ground-source heat pumps or air-source heat pumps. It just needs to be warm and affordable.

It has already been mentioned anyway, but in the southern German area, you sometimes can’t get a terraced house for under 900,000 euros even in rural areas. Construction costs also definitely seem to be higher here. Even if, like us, you want an absolute standard house with 130 sqm, staying under 500,000 euros is definitely not easy (including incidental costs, but of course excluding land). How is an average earner with children supposed to afford this at current interest rates, please?

I always find such statements somewhat strange. The prices for building materials are the same everywhere in Germany. There are no price lists for [South], [Central], or [Northern Germany]. And although wages are somewhat higher in the south than in the center, especially in construction they do not fluctuate as much as in other industries.

Incomes are higher in the south and people can incur more debt than, for example, in [Central Germany]. Therefore, house prices are also higher.

These prices have nothing to do with wages and material costs.

I can still build a simple house today, without much frill, with a lot of own labor and some skillful material purchasing, for 100,000 euros. Solidly built with massive construction. Regardless of whether in the south or the north.

Leaving aside the issue of land and development.