Construction financing in a few years

Everything is not so simple

In general, we will probably rent something first, an apartment or ideally a house. According to our research over the past few weeks, the supply is not exactly attractive compared to new builds (I mean more in terms of quality than financially), which means we probably want to keep this phase quite short.
Looking back over the last 10 years, renting would certainly suit our life better than buying/building, but having children changes quite a lot. Therefore, now the more long-term planning.

By the way, I am an IT expert professionally at one of the big global IT consultancies. Well paid, but it is a pretty stressful job connected with a lot of travel, which is also why we are thinking about when the right time is to slow down. Since I am here with a work visa, this is almost equivalent to planning the step back home.

According to our research in recent weeks, the offer is not exactly attractive compared to new construction (I mean more in terms of quality than financially)

Well, at least here there are numerous massively overpriced rental offers for new luxury apartments. It feels like these are the dentists who let a construction tycoon sell them a few apartments in the luxury bunker construction project as an investment. And now they are trying to get solvent tenants to pay the net cold rent based on the seller's exaggerated yield calculation. Such offers stay online for a long time and eventually the price drops. The luxury segment is well supplied.

Since I come from a consulting relationship ... I think that is not a nice life for a family. The (mostly) dad misses out on a lot with the kids and at some point the woman also feels left alone, especially when the children become more demanding (mentally). If DE is really a nice alternative for you, then see if you can find a nice piece of land near your family and build a house (rent somewhere cheap temporarily beforehand). Even with a house you remain flexible. Newer houses usually sell like hotcakes. As an IT professional, you have almost free choice of profession. I speak from experience and I am even much less flexible.

Due to the social upheavals in Germany, which in my view will certainly continue to increase in the future, it might be worth considering whether Switzerland could also be an option for you as a place to live. Salaries are higher, German-speaking, and close enough to Germany for regular visits if you have relatives and friends in Germany.

I myself have lived in Switzerland for 5 years, and not everything that glitters there is gold either ...

- Gross income in my job (Dipl.-Ing. project manager development) calculated on working hours is not significantly higher than in Germany. (in CH 42.5h / week with 25 days vacation, overtime compensated with base salary)
- Net income significantly higher than in Germany, but much higher living costs - especially with a family (daycare fees 118 CHF per day!)
- Real estate prices significantly higher than in Germany (new single-family house near Lucerne, normal standard, approx. 140m2 on approx. 450m2 land starting at at least 1.5 million CHF)

As a single/DINKI it was a great time, especially the leisure value is gigantic - 30 minutes to the ski area in summer, the beautiful lakes and mountains...

stays in the States, I think the narrow-mindedness here will get on your nerves very quickly if you are used to the USA for a longer time...

Hello everyone,
after 15 months I wanted to pick up my old thread again. February 2020 – who would have thought back then how time would continue until now! Hopefully the next 15 months will look a bit different.
The topic is relevant for us again now. We have actually returned to Germany by now, right in the middle of the pandemic. And we are currently renting a townhouse here, at least until the end of next year, maybe 1-2 years longer until Child 1 finishes primary school. At the moment, we have 170,000 EUR in savings, 10,000 EUR net monthly from my new German job.
Looking ahead, house construction is now a stronger focus for us again, even though the recent developments make us a bit uneasy (ongoing value increases, shortage of land, construction costs, single-family home ban discussions, etc.). We can and will continue saving at least until the end of 2022, which hopefully cushions these effects somewhat, but what do you think about our situation:
Is it appropriate to "hurry up" and become active as soon as possible, or better to "weather the storm," wait until some aspects settle down a bit?