Construction costs are currently skyrocketing

But are the journeyman wages really that much higher after taxes? I really wonder about that. Does a roofer or mason who demolishes his house here for 650€ and gets 2.2k net earn 4k net in Bavaria and have to pay 1.8k per month for the property? I once applied directly in Munich after my studies, but after the salary proposal, I immediately declined again.

A good friend from the Starnberg district is a trained electrician and works in industry. He has around 66k per year shown at the top right on the documents from Datev... that should be about 3900 net in tax class 3. So it’s doable there if you look around and are willing to learn. Only: with 1800 you don’t pay anything off here! The millionaire density between Munich and Starnberg is just too extreme for that.

My opinion on this is that everyone who gets paid for overtime should simply put the countless hours spent on construction with [EL] into the job and use that to pay the skilled craftsmen.

My opinion on this is that everyone who gets paid for overtime should simply put the countless hours spent on construction with EL into the job and use that to pay the skilled craftsmen.

But that would require you to receive as much net pay for the overtime as you have to pay the craftsman. For that, you would have to have a very well-paid job.

Yes, Bayern near Munich probably, the land alone makes the difference. Salaries are accordingly, if a street construction worker here can pay off his single-family house property with 650/month, that felt like luxury.

It’s the same elsewhere. Rhine-Main area, FFM commuter belt. For developed plots, up to 1000€/sqm are sometimes asked. I recently saw such an offer on a portal. That not particularly large plot costs more than a well-equipped medium-sized house. Really crazy.

And you also have to make compromises sometimes, but it's no different with new construction.

I completely agree with you. With an older house, compromises are usually offset by nice details (or "nostalgic charm"), whereas in a new build, in my opinion, there is nothing like that. Our last house from the 1950s had details that we and many others cannot afford in a new build and that we miss.

But that would require that you get as much net pay for the overtime as you have to pay the craftsman. For that, you need to have a very well-paid job.

Conversely, it would mean that you do the work you put into the house just as quickly and well as the professional, which is rather rare. If you now need 50% more time, you can allocate 150% of your hourly wage to the professional. That should fit well...