Construction costs are currently skyrocketing

They keep doing that until he finds a new job and his successor makes working from home a condition of employment ;-)

Returning from working from home leads to almost a revolt in some companies – a very large German bank wanted to offer 40% working from home, in exceptional cases 60%. Of course, everyone wanted to be the exception. The result now is that 60% is the standard.

Our IT and sales departments were sent to work from home at the start of Corona. Now they are supposed to be present again. You have no idea what went on here. When the first people carried out their threat and quit, things suddenly moved very quickly and there was a company agreement "Homeoffice".
On the topic: we are currently renovating an existing property, in the middle of gutting it. My construction manager (best friend, self-employed with construction services) sees everything quite calmly right now. He even suspects that due to the elimination of the KFW [subsidy], rising interest rates and the "loss" of those willing to build, the availability of building materials will ease in the foreseeable future. I remain quite optimistic therefore. What else can you do? It has to get finished. :)

These houses also don’t stay on the market for long. Plots are scarce in many places, home office is increasingly possible

On the contrary, especially the end-of-life houses with bubble prices now linger forever on the portals, some have already seen the first price reductions of €80,000 and still remain slow sellers. They were previously traded with minimal discounts against 10-15 year old new builds, as if being 50+ years old had no impact on the condition. In my opinion, these are also typical sources for the heir generation – grandma’s expensively cashed-in little house, which went towards the KFW basement apartment new build for the offspring. Now this path is drying up. And the renovation obligations that are looming won’t exactly make these houses more attractive.

Our IT and sales departments were moved to remote work at the start of Corona. Now they are supposed to be present again. You have no idea what went on here. When the first ones made their threat and quit,

This may not be the (main) topic here, but then the employees should leave.
Yeah, yeah… online sales works great :D

Well, with some offers you really wonder whether the gold mine or oil source has already been tapped. I find prices for houses that are 100+ years old, renovated x years ago, far beyond the value of the land seriously exaggerated. At the same time, there is a lack of living space/building plots for young people, and in the town center, dilapidated houses are piling up at horrendous prices on developed plots. I think municipalities should have more authority here. Our municipality has had a project running for years, which is also well received, against vacancies in town centers. Nevertheless, there are 12 properties alone on our street (semi-detached houses or former farms or microhouses). Should and must a settlement outside be developed at the expense of the general public?

And what renovation obligations are coming up will hardly make these houses more attractive.

I had thought so far that renovations of old buildings are soon to be generously subsidized and that these houses would therefore be more popular than new buildings. Especially since old buildings often also come with a large plot of land and magnificent old trees. Am I mistaken? My husband and I will continue to look for an old building suitable for renovation. However, if new constructions are almost made impossible, it could also be that the renovation of old buildings is not subsidized that much after all, because people who want to live in their own house will have to renovate anyway, even if they do not receive any subsidies.

I thought until now that renovations of old buildings were soon going to be generously subsidized and that these houses would thus be more popular than new buildings. Especially since old buildings often also come with a large plot of land and magnificent, old trees. Am I wrong? My husband and I will continue to look for an old building suitable for renovation. However, if new buildings become almost impossible, it could well be that the renovation of old buildings is not subsidized that much after all, because people who want to live in their own house have to renovate anyway, even if they do not receive any subsidies.

But it is already being massively subsidized, partly with 40-50%. Now renovation of old buildings certainly costs 50% more than simply insulating a new building.