Financing: How much did your house cost?

One should simply consider land and house separately. A house in Bavaria costs only a few percent more than in Schleswig-Holstein, but the land price has a surcharge of several hundred percent. Basically, the experienced users here have been around long enough to clearly understand that 1sqm of house costs roughly €1600 (+ land + additional construction costs and garden). Prices can rise quickly with a ventilation system and other extras, but going lower gets tricky because quality inevitably has to suffer significantly at some point (that doesn't mean expensive providers always build well, just that the cheapest companies definitely build poorly). High land costs ALWAYS come with supply/demand factors and therefore always have the advantage that they fully meet the 3 most important criteria of land, namely: location, location, and location. A good location usually also means better earning opportunities. Yes, there are also places with top locations and poor earnings, those people just work in crappy companies. But in companies with collective agreements and the like, even simple craftsmen earn 2k net without problems... and such companies only exist in the more expensive areas.

With €2k net income you definitely can't finance half a million, even if both are working...

most people also build with 2 and suddenly it's 4k net and the house can be financed. (and yes children and part-time jobs etc blah blah - still people in more expensive residential areas also earn more money, because supply and demand...)

That's what I meant, even with 4k you can't finance half a million. With a 30-year term and a 1.5% blended interest rate, that would be over €1700 per month plus additional costs, not much left over...