Does the real estate market increasingly force more families to build?

For us, it was ultimately only because we simply couldn’t get a four-room apartment in our dream neighborhood that we decided to buy. We weren’t attractive enough for private landlords, and with cooperative apartments there were always families with higher social urgency. After about a year of searching for an apartment, we first moved into a 3.5-room apartment 4 km away and then looked for a house from there – the old, partially renovated, small, and very noisy apartment was no longer bearable for us with a toddler and a baby (experiences like: children screaming endlessly at night and the neighbors banging on the walls because they have to get up again at 5 a.m. really wear on exhausted nerves). A condominium would have been okay too, but 1. there were almost none and 2. they were still more expensive in relation to a house. Then we looked at a few very few houses, but all were hopelessly overpriced. Then our small semi-detached house with a reasonable price came up and we even got the contract, despite numerous competitors – because the sellers were simply nice and wanted to sell to a young family. So we bought it and we haven’t regretted it. But originally, we just wanted a bigger rental apartment. We really didn’t want to commit financially so much and we didn’t want the work with a garden and so on. By now I am a passionate home gardener and so it fits now, but as I said, originally we didn’t want any of that. I believe that if there were simply enough family apartments at an affordable price, many families in big cities would continue to choose renting. Or buy condominiums. Not everyone needs a house and not everyone wants one.

Doesn't a seller want to sell for as high a price as possible, unless it stays within the family?

One would think so, but the homo economicus fortunately does not seem to be as widespread as economics would like us to believe.

I share the experience of , especially for older people the buyer is usually more important than their money. Moreover, they often do very well financially even with a "fair" price when selling. Because whether I receive the current maximum achievable market price, or the same amount as the neighbor did 3 years ago; in virtually every case the house is worth much more today than "back then," and most are more than happy with this increase in value.

Complicating matters is the already mentioned fact that in more popular areas many things (if not most) happen through contacts, and in this context no one really wants to appear particularly greedy or, conversely, stingy.
In less trendy neighborhoods, it is still difficult to get rid of one’s house even these days, so a higher price simply cannot be enforced.

In extreme cases it certainly looks different, but Munich or Stuttgart are not the standard for the average German single-family home owner.

Here I would like to interject, because is it really like that? As a seller, don't you want to sell at the highest possible price, unless it stays within the family? That would then mean using a real estate agent and/or an advertisement in a weekly newspaper or internet portal.

Many people do not want the associated organizational effort or the sightseeing tourism and especially wish for discretion, especially when selling due to separation. They do not want their house to be seen on the internet. Therefore, the intention to sell is initially only expressed within a trusted circle (family, neighbors, workplace, sports club, etc.) and someone always knows someone who is currently looking for something. If the offer then matches what one has imagined, the property never goes on the market. The smaller and more family-oriented the respective place, the more this tends to happen in my experience. There are some places around here where I haven't even heard or read anything about a sale in 5 years. It happens there right over the garden fence.

In extreme locations it certainly looks different, but Munich or Stuttgart are not the standard for the typical German single-family house owner.

More and more locations are becoming "extreme locations." A terraced house built in 2001 for 350,000 DM now yields 450,000 € in the commuter belt around Düsseldorf. The value development does not reflect wage development. Münsterland, Freiburg, Augsburg, Nuremberg, Hanover – no matter where you look: this discrepancy is omnipresent and concerning.

We have also experienced that (older) sellers mainly care about what happens to the house/land. One seller told us that he did not place an obituary in the newspaper so that he would have peace from buyer inquiries. The neighbors were already eyeing the property to enlarge their garden. In this respect, a lot really goes under the table.

But there are also many who are all thumbs and need an expensive craftsman for everything. Or simply have no desire or time to take care of the house even on weekends. This should not be underestimated. And such people are increasingly forced to build by the market development. Because it can sometimes be an economic option. Initially.

Well... if you need a craftsman for every little thing, you should either have the necessary money for it or simply not own a home... whether a purchased house, a newly built house, or a condominium... no matter how much the market seems to force you. In that case, you only have the option to rent.