Defensive offer, or have house prices become so expensive?

You are contradicting yourself a bit. You want to live closer to the family, thus build a new house. But this will cost a lot due to the location (current status). However, you say it doesn't matter if you sell the old house cheaper (than the market allows) and can no longer afford the new one and thus cannot live with the family?

Your increase in quality of life is very well balanced by money in your situation :cool:

I said we are just trying to make it affordable. So I don’t see any contradiction in my statement. Maybe you misread? I also don’t want to sell the current house too cheaply. I just find the market hard to assess right now because demand for properties is generally high on average, but location, age, features, gut feeling, and so much more play a role. And a house is not like a worn pair of Levis for which you can just look up the average price on eBay. ;)

Overall, I think you are making a lot of unnecessary? worries. You can easily afford the new house with your net income.

Whether the old house brings in 20 or 30k more, it just means financing for one year longer for you, so what?

Of course, I still wouldn’t throw money out the window or give away the old house or just pick the first construction company for the new one. But there’s no need for stress.

And you also had the thread that the first house wasn’t good enough, considering your current possibilities. I would definitely take that into good consideration!

Excluding price negotiations in advance makes no sense.

Agreed. By the way, it’s excluding – a minimum standard for a Studienrat ;-)

How big is the demand, how solvent do the interested parties appear, how do the viewings go, etc. Depending on that, a bidding process then,

So basically exactly the Darwinian dogfight battle of the modern "bidding processes" (mind you: in quotation marks), in which, in my opinion, only one thing is really certain: namely a Waterloo for business culture :-(

Fixed price or also lowering the price if nobody wants the house.

If among the previous inquiries and viewings "nobody" wants the house (at the asking price), that does not mean that actually nobody wants it and/or that it is not worth the price. Rather, assuming it wasn’t a moon fantasy price, it is more likely that the right person simply hasn’t been made aware of it yet. Let us not forget: the sale is not about some price-philosophical game theory, but about selling a specific real offer, a house in the quantity "1". So quantitatively it requires exactly 1.00 buyer, and qualitatively only the right one. Not making waves that roll to the wrong people is not a nice-to-have but of essential importance. Money loves discretion, no big fuss in front of the disco. As said, here a house is to be sold "for real" – not in Reälliti Tiwieh.

They quoted me a price of around 2500 / m², but we’re talking about KFW40 standard here, and a flat rate for earthworks is already included (whether that’s accurate remains to be seen), [...] earthworks are a not-to-be-neglected item on a sloping site.

If you “have to see whether it’s accurate,” then it’s not a flat rate. I find the price including the risk of extra costs for the slope not credible – Saarland or not, this is not Siberia or an emerging country.

They are also experienced in planning with slopes and split-level houses (they accordingly already calculate that into the earthworks costs). Furthermore, floors and painting are already factored into the price.

I’ll see if I can dig it up. If my memory doesn’t play tricks on me, it was who once pointed out a general contractor in Saarland with split-level models, I think in 2018.

I'll see if I can dig it up. If my memory doesn’t play tricks on me, it was @RomeoZwo who once pointed to a GU in Saarland with split-level models, I believe in 2018.

The company Laux Fertigbau also builds split-level homes as standard.

If memory serves me right, it was who once pointed out a GU in Saarland with split-level models, I believe in 2018.

The mischief is usually only mentioned by my daughter ;-) . Yes, it was Laux Fertigbau. However, I only came across them because of my internet search for split-level or hillside houses. I don’t find the split-down concept all that bad ...

And you also had the thread that the first house was not good enough, considering your current possibilities. I would definitely take that into account!

I think you mean someone else. Kati's problem was more about the neighborhood; the thread where someone was unhappy with the equipment was a different lady.