Construction costs are currently skyrocketing

I always find such statements somewhat odd. The prices for building materials are the same everywhere in Germany. There are no price lists for South, Central, or Northern Germany. And wages are indeed somewhat higher in the South than in the center, but especially in construction, they are not as variable as in other industries.

Incomes are higher in the South and people can take on more debt than, for example, in Central Germany. For this reason, 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 frills, with a lot of own labor and some skillful material purchasing, for 100,000 euros. Solidly built with massive construction. Whether in the South or the North.

Leaving aside the issue of land and development.

Yes and no. Wages for craftsmen are indeed significantly higher; sometimes companies from the South recruit craftsmen in other regions with very good wages to manage the flood of orders.

Building material prices are not the same everywhere because wages are involved throughout the entire supply chain. If a Bavarian structural engineer buys a calcium silicate brick made in Bavaria from a Bavarian building material dealer, which is transported multiple times by Bavarian truck drivers, the prices are naturally different from someone who replaces "Bavaria" with "Lower Saxony" in the cloze test.

A hardware store may offer uniform prices nationwide in Germany, but a proper building materials dealer is super opaque and will mark up prices as much as they can regionally. I'll bet on that.

I always find such statements a bit strange. The prices for building materials are the same everywhere in Germany. There are no price lists for southern, central or northern Germany. And wages are indeed somewhat higher in the south than in the center, but especially in construction they do not fluctuate as much as in other industries.

Incomes are higher in the south and people can take on more debt than, for example, in central Germany. Therefore, house prices are also higher.

These prices have nothing to do with the costs of labor and materials.

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

Leaving aside the issue of land and development.

Complete nonsense... I come from the construction industry. The differences in labor costs are enormous.

I often buy my building materials from Batzner. They have branches both in Bavaria and in Thuringia.
I get the price from the Thuringian branch also in Bavaria.

It is logical that transport costs can vary. But the offer price is usually identical.

And if not, then you’re just dealing with the wrong building materials supplier. Apart from that, sometimes you can also buy directly from the manufacturer.
I bought all the major items directly from the manufacturer. I then organized transport privately.

They often also have special items or second choice and are glad when someone picks them up.

Just yesterday, I got an offer for 36cm Poroton T14 for 36 pallets and was surprised that the price is actually still relatively cheap. So here there has not yet been a major price adjustment that would justify a significant price increase for the contractors.

So there are a lot of political prices included. But there are certainly enough people who let themselves be ripped off or just have to pay.

Which labor costs are enormous? The hourly billing rates of the construction companies or the hourly wages of the employees?
So if the heating installer from Saxony-Anhalt installs a heating system in Bavaria, does the employee then get double wages in Bavaria?
And the mason only earns 15 euros in Saxony-Anhalt and 30 in Bavaria? Sure, there is a difference, but not that drastic. Here in the East, construction workers also earn very well. But we’re talking about material purchasing.

It is also clear that Baywa has to support its entire bureaucracy, but that’s not my problem.
As always, the old saying proves true: the profit lies in purchasing.

I often buy my building materials from Batzner. He has branches both in Bavaria and in Thuringia.

WoW. Deriving such generalizations from such a small pool of experience is truly an art in itself! Respect for that. Content-wise, I can no longer argue... I wouldn’t even know which generalization to dismantle first. For example, I can tell you that the building materials dealer Kunze already quotes me different prices, depending on whether I want delivery from branch A or B in my city.