Finding and tracking new development areas and projects

You really have to keep these areas on your radar long-term, register directly during the expression of interest phase, and then either rely on luck of the draw or take part in the madness of the bidding process.

Luck of the draw can also favor someone who was added to the list later. And in my opinion, the madness of the bidding process is more suitable for confirmation-seeking pessimists than for prospective builders searching for property. Depending on the quotas, you’re more likely to end up ready for a deserted island (or a divorce) than as a builder.

We also created a list with a map, checked public transport and highway connections, infrastructure and on-site inspections, and sorted it by favorites. Regularly searched with place names + new development area on Google News, kept an eye on the municipality's website, and looked into the community newsletters when available online. Additionally, regularly viewed privately listed plots.

Then we contacted/called all municipalities and asked if there were plots, if a development area was planned, if one could be put on an interest list, if it was known whether someone privately was selling a building plot ... and if none of that: when to ask again ... this way we got our plot. First contact with our new municipality Aug 2016 – a development area would come but interest list was full, maybe someone would drop out, should regularly inquire. Feb 2018 got plots (back then it was still all field and meadow). Aug 2019 started building as one of the first.

Luck can also strike someone who joined the list later.

Yes, of course. But the chance of missing the sometimes short time windows of the application phase can be minimized through long-term observation and announcements.

And the madness of the bidding process is, in my opinion, better suited for confirmation-seeking pessimists than for plot-seeking prospective builders. Depending on the odds, you’re more likely to be ready for the island (or divorce) than to become a builder.

True. That’s why we’ve only watched that madness from a distance from the beginning :D

If the original poster wanted to start building soon, I would say right away: forget about the new development areas around NRW metropolitan areas. Everyone from Joe Schmoe to Liselotte Müller applies there. But with the given lead time, he can indulge in the process. And maybe he’ll be luckier than expected and can secure the plot and finance it flexibly.

First of all, thanks for the feedback and the experiences! Quite interesting how opinions can be so different in part, but most things are roughly as expected :) I guess we will also specifically unpack the map again and do some painting to see what fits well and what doesn’t (where you can also sometimes take a targeted look from private sources) and otherwise keep our eyes and ears open. The tip with Google News (and possibly Alerts) is not bad at all. (Even if the most interesting areas so far have only been in the news because of citizen protests, oh dear)

(ibs. mit noch nicht geplanten oder bereits die weiterführende Schule besuchenden Kindern) ein "Zwischenhaus" für maximal zehn Jahre zu suchen und dafür gut bei Reihen- und Doppelhausprojekten fündig zu werden.

Are such projects usually announced by the city or do you rather look directly through the developers? I see things like that from time to time on the portals and then also sometimes visited the developers’ homepages, where I then found other potentially interesting things. In part, sales then also run again through third parties. Are there actually common outlets where you can find such projects? Or still, Google is my friend and otherwise just write to the sales departments for this?

The tip with Google News (and possibly Alert) is not bad at all. (Even if the most interesting areas so far have only been in the news due to citizen protests, oh dear)

If there is an article with: "Citizens protest against planned new development area," I would count that as a hit and call the municipality immediately. The residents also mobilized against our new development area, but it didn't achieve anything.

[...]count as a hit and call the municipality immediately the residents have also mobilized against our new development area, but it brought nothing

Hit: yes. Call immediately: no. We are far from wild land allocations in this area. Everything is done in a very orderly manner. When citizen protests are in the media, the plan approval procedure for the new development area is usually already underway. It takes a few more years until the plots are allocated. And calling the municipality then doesn’t help either. In the municipalities, everything (rightly) follows a strict routine.