Financing comparison: past vs. today

So our parents were able to build large beautiful single-family homes on big plots 25/35 years ago. Both were able to pay them off before they were 60. Our single-family home is much smaller, has no more luxury for me except for the energy class, and may not be paid off by 60.

You definitely have more luxury, you just don't realize it.
Would you want to move into your parents' 35-year-old house if only a little renovation is done? You will surely still find roller shutters with belts, toilets that stand on the floor, cheap radiators instead of underfloor heating, and probably countless other things.
And I don't want to know how expensive it is to heat such an old house nowadays. Old houses feel drafty and cold.

So the house that my parents built in 1995 is, in my opinion, absolutely contemporary. That was already 27 years ago. So far, only cosmetic renovations and a new gas heating system. Windows etc., all tiptop. Great indoor climate. And even hanging toilets were included from the beginning ;) It is a prefabricated house made of concrete parts. Bathroom still original. Not the latest trend but anything but old-fashioned. I have seen houses several times that are 5-8 years younger but look noticeably older. But houses from the 80s are, of course, a different story. A buddy took over his parents' house. 40 years old, still all at the state of the year it was built. Wooden windows etc. The indoor climate is really not nice. Either you freeze or because of the poor heating air you have to open the windows again after 30 minutes.

You definitely have more luxury, you just don’t realize it.
Would you want to move into your parents’ 35-year-old house if it was only slightly renovated? There are probably still roller shutters with straps, toilets that stand on the floor, cheap radiators instead of underfloor heating, and probably countless other things.
And I don’t want to know how expensive it must be to heat such an old house nowadays. Old houses feel drafty and cold.

On the contrary: we have strap roller shutters, my parents have electric ones.
My parents have underfloor heating and a tiled stove, we don’t have a stove.
My parents’ bathrooms were renovated a few years ago and are significantly larger and nicer than ours. My parents have 3 bathrooms + guest toilet. The main bathroom is 20 sqm with a sauna and rain shower, built-in fittings from Grohe. We have 1 bathroom + guest toilet. We have cheap fittings and of course neither a rain shower nor a sauna.

I would immediately swap with my parents without renovation.
Maybe when we are 60 financially we will be so well off that we could afford a sauna and a pool. But our bathroom is too small for a sauna and our garden too small for a pool.

On the contrary: we have strap roller shutters, my parents electric ones.

Strap roller shutters – a dream :) I would love to have them, but then with jute straps. They don’t make those anymore, I was told. I managed to get plastic strap roller shutters with difficulty, but not on all windows. Even if a house from the '80s apparently still is up to date, the builders of the house certainly enjoyed less luxury in everyday life. If you look at what kind of electrical gadgets one uses up or leaves lying around, how many pairs of shoes are in the way, and why you need yet another new impregnated jacket. That used to be really different in my opinion. And even earlier times were different still. ;)

If you look at what kind of electronic gadgets you wear out or leave lying around, how many pairs of shoes are standing in the way and why you "need" a new impregnated jacket again. In my opinion, it used to be really different. And even earlier, even more so. ;)

Yes, but that is not the case for everyone today. I have 1 pair of sneakers, 1 pair of dress shoes and 1 pair of sandals. All are worn until they are broken and then replaced. I have had my winter jacket for nearly 15 years. We don’t use a streaming service and currently don’t even have a TV. The phone is used until it breaks.

On the other hand, we had more equity than the majority of 30-year-old home builders :)

Wooden windows etc. The indoor climate is really not nice.

Oh dear… o_O … really still wooden windows? That's something… that the indoor climate is not nice because of that, I doubt ;)

Apart from that, if I can save 2000€ by laying the floor myself, then that's half a month's net salary. For me, that already makes it worth it.

That's what I thought too and used to lay the tiles myself in the old house. A delayed slipped disc, which I treated as a lumbago with ABC plasters, was the price of thrift :(