Financing comparison: past vs. today

Without calculating, one can quite simply say that today it is much worse/harder to build a single-family house.

In our countryside, everyone, but really EVERYONE, used to build.

That means: family with 2 children, mother at home (possibly even permanently) and without a significant job for the father and with a salary below average.

They also didn’t save that much more or anything else... It worked anyway.

Today, with a net household income of €6,000, one has to consider whether it is EVEN POSSIBLE to build a single-family house, let alone the dimensions that were built in the past. That the mother then stays at home? Don’t even think about it...

No one can tell me otherwise... Right now is the most difficult/expensive/riskiest situation since houses have been built.

Without doing any calculations, one can easily say that today it is much worse/harder to build a single-family house. In our rural area, everyone, but really EVERYONE, used to build. Meaning: a family with 2 children, mother at home (possibly even permanently) and without the father having a significant job and with income below average. They also didn’t save much more or anything else... It worked anyway. Today, with a household net income of €6,000, you have to consider whether you can EVEN build a single-family house, let alone the dimensions that were built before. That the mother then stays at home? Don’t even think about it... No one can tell me otherwise... Right now is the most difficult/expensive/riskiest situation since people have been able to build houses.

I see it the same way, but unfortunately many people don’t understand that, especially when they only compare interest rates.

Many factors such as inflation etc. are completely left out, as well as the higher living standards today: larger houses, heat pumps, solar, ventilation systems, insulation, etc.

Whereas conversely the basement is no longer a standard today. I find it much more problematic than the new build prices that the prices for 50-year-old non-renovated existing properties have also risen just as sharply. Although the standard there is not as good and you still have to invest a lot of money in renovation.

Whereas conversely, a basement is no longer standard today. I find it much more problematic than the new build prices that the prices for 50-year-old unrenovated existing properties have increased just as much. Even though the standard there is not as good and you still have to invest a lot of money into renovation.

I also view the argument regarding living standards critically... Everything somehow balances out...

As you say: In the past, the basement was standard and a living area of 200m².

Today, you build half the square meters without a basement and pay "converted" (which is of course hard to quantify) the same.

But because more people are already complaining, many building plots are going back, houses have to be sold (numbers are increasing significantly), and wealthy families can no longer afford it financially, it shows to me that today it is much, much more difficult to realize the dream of owning your own home.

In the past - at least in rural areas - you felt really poor if you didn’t build your own house.

But the fact that there is already more complaining, many building plots are reverting back, houses have to be sold (numbers are increasing significantly), and wealthy families can no longer afford it mathematically, shows to me that today it is much, much more difficult to realize the dream of owning a home.

The question, however, is a bit whether this is more of a short-term effect. Those who started planning a year ago and calculated based on the interest rates and prices at that time may of course find it tight now, especially if they cannot or do not want to slim down. Those who start planning now will probably approach it differently from the outset. But this is more of a comparison between a year ago and today. I find it hard to assess how it looked compared to 10, 20, 30, or 40 years ago.

The question is a bit whether this is more of a short-term effect. Those who started planning a year ago and calculated with the interest rates and prices at that time may now find it tight, especially if they cannot or do not want to cut back. Those who start planning now will probably approach it differently from the outset. But this is more of a comparison between a year ago and today. I find it hard to assess how it looked compared to 10, 20, 30, 40 years ago.

Yes, as you can see from my obviously incorrect calculation in many areas, it is really hard to compare. But a trend is recognizable that in the past, despite 7-12% interest rates, it was not really harder to acquire or build a property due to the lower capital requirements.