Construction costs are currently skyrocketing

And maybe also the question of financial possibilities and how well you can get something financed if you have it done. I have already suffered quite a bit under the cheap painting work in my own house and regretted not having taken the expensive painter (we had a painter, but very cheap). I have not regretted the do-it-yourself work in the outdoor area. We didn't know anything about it either, but you can get into it well. Mistakes don’t feel set in stone there. If you have done something that later turns out to be stupid, you can change it again with a spade and wheelbarrow. In the house, repairs would mostly be associated with considerable effort.

That’s exactly my point. I’m saying, if someone still wants a single-family house, they have to check what they can afford to pay. If they can’t finance the purchase and renovation, they have to do the work themselves. And yet: that’s where the demands already begin. If I WANT a renovated house, but cannot fully finance it, I MUST do the work myself, or leave it entirely. Wanting to have a house is already a demand. A renovated house is the next demand. The third is to have the renovation done entirely by tradespeople. And then the options for choosing materials and fittings are open-ended. And here you can save a lot effectively. Whoever can screw in a shelf can also swing a hammer drill. Do demolition work themselves. Anyone can also pull electrical lines including chiseling. Likewise, plastering the walls. Whoever can seal a package with tape can also install insulation between rafters. Hanging drywall level likewise. And so on and so forth. The internet is full of information on how things are done. You just have to want it. Especially when the choice is to live in an unrenovated old building, a (partly) self-renovated old building, or no property at all.

According to our daily newspaper, a local prefabricated house manufacturer has withdrawn his submitted building application for a workshop and submitted a new one for a larger hall. The mood of the prefabricated house manufacturers in our community is still positive.

That's exactly my point. I’m saying, anyone who still wants a single-family house must check what they can afford to pay. If they can’t finance the purchase and renovation, they have to do the work themselves. And yet: that’s where the demands begin. If I WANT a renovated house but can’t fully finance it, I MUST do the work myself or give it up entirely. Wanting to have a house is already a demand. A renovated house is the next demand. The third is having the renovation entirely done by craftsmen. And from there, the demands rise with the selection of materials.
And this is where you can save a lot. Anyone who can screw on a shelf can also wield a hammer drill. Do demolition work yourself.
Anyone can also pull electrical cables including chasing. Likewise, plastering the walls.
Anyone who can tape up a package can also install insulation between rafters. Mounting drywall plumb is the same. And so on and so forth.
The internet is full of information on how to do these things. You just have to want it. Especially when the choice is to live in an unrenovated old building, a (partially) self-renovated old building, or no property at all.

That results in houses I would keep my hands off. Nicely messed up on YouTube, no installation zones observed, etc. I’ve seen plenty and turned it off very quickly again.

That results in houses that I would keep my hands off. Nicely messed up by YouTube, no installation zones observed, and so on and so forth. Seen plenty and quickly turned it off again.

These are then the houses that your or my grandpa built themselves with almost nothing and without any modern YouTube gimmicky DIY influencer nonsense, to the best of their knowledge and conscience. And they were good enough for their and following generations to raise their offspring in. Today, they would crap a big pile on so-called installation zones, and they would be right to do so.

I have no regrets about the DIY work in the outdoor area. We had no idea about it either, but you can really get into it well. Mistakes don’t feel set in stone there. If you’ve done something that turns out to be stupid later, you can change it again with a spade and wheelbarrow. Inside the house, repairs usually involve considerable effort.

It depends on how your outdoor facilities look. On a North German (=flat as a pancake) plot, sowing grass and surrounding it with a hedge is almost impossible to get wrong. Poorly laid paving is a different matter; removing the ruts is a bigger job. And as soon as you have terrain modeling or slope stabilization, that’s a bit more demanding and, above all, time-consuming to change.

The internet is full of information on how things work. You just have to want it. Especially when the choice is living in an unrenovated old building, (partly) self-renovated old building, no property.

Yes and no. I also found houses where the previous owner did DIY work problematic. Sometimes you can see at first glance that someone with little knowledge has botched it. And doing it yourself costs a lot of time, which is also valuable with a family. If you don’t live close to the construction site (whether renovation or new build), time becomes even scarcer and the logistics more complex. And then some things can come up that are hard to control. I apparently got a hernia last week (putting a tarp over the garden house package and weighing it down with curbstones, probably leaned too far forward...), so I’m glad that moving in now doesn’t depend on my ability to do heavy physical work. But basically you’re right, if DIY work is the only way to make it financially feasible, you should seriously consider it. But also don’t overestimate yourself. I think the two can sing a song right now about how much easier some tasks sound in planning than in reality ;)

I partly do not understand the claims either. For some, it reads as if all older houses have the quality of life of a tin shack in the slum. :)