High construction costs with rising building interest rates

In addition, many people are constantly shown “showcase houses” on social media

This will increase even more when influencers post room tours shot in the Greenbox in 2028; after that, it will collapse ...

and then the feeling arises that you want that too because apparently everyone has it.

... and people go back to real class reunions where they realize that Schober and Ni-ko-laus Die-stel-mei-er are not really such big achievers as in the Sparkasse advertisement. The "everyone" only apparently has it and just doesn’t talk about their monthly burdens. But bailiffs and debt counselors also have friend circles, and the hairline cracks in society’s façades are becoming wider. The constant dripping still needs a while before breaking through, but the GZSZ fairy tale "Everyone (else) lives like the Denver Carringtons" has long since burned out in reality—the light of these extinguished stars just hasn’t arrived in the world yet. But it will. I recommend the story of the fisherman and his wife as required reading. The automotive industry also managed to make locking the speed at 250 km/h socially acceptable.

My parents financed a new building 25 years ago with 7%. However, they needed almost €200,000 less with a similar equity contribution.

But your calculation obviously adds up: while your parents had to pay €7,000 per year for a €100,000 loan, you currently get twice the amount of money for €7,000. Interest rates are currently around an average of 3.5%, so you get your €200,000 for that money. What you make of it, in other words, what you want to afford, is up to you.

I once reflected on something like this while setting up the fence.

How old are you? M29/W27

we have been dreaming of owning a home for a long time.

You are now 29 or 30 and are already sweating when you think about the financing. Of course, that is also a very early age to build. Not everyone can do that. I hardly know anyone who is building at such a young age. Yes, many want to, but they wait until the time is right. Usually one or two children are already there, which makes moving necessary. It is not uncommon for the man to have reached 40.

Did you know that until 2007 there was no parental allowance at all? People received child-rearing allowance. Single parents were barely above the poverty line with it; families just got by on one salary and the almost 300€ child-rearing allowance. Ask your mother how it all worked without parental allowance, how much they consumed on the side, and put that into relation to your consumption.

In another thread you write that the plots cost only 30,000€ where you are, and that you also have craftsmen in the family.
I am a fan of discussions, but I honestly cannot understand your attitude towards construction costs in relation to earlier times. You have the best conditions, you should accept them instead of questioning the construction costs.

Phew. So I was almost 39 at the start of construction and thus definitely already one of the older ones here. Most people here started building in their early/mid 30s.

I also don’t know how frugal one is supposed to live to be able to set aside 1 or 2,000 EUR out of 5,000 EUR monthly? 2 cars, an occasional vacation, and the money is gone.
5,000 net in 2025 corresponds to 3,500 to maybe 4,000 net in 2019.
Prices have exploded since then, construction costs alone went up 15, 20% in 2022/23.

And the single breadwinner with the housewife who takes care of the children and still lives well. That doesn’t exist anymore either. We are already the exception here because my wife works part-time. Most people here both work full-time, even with 2 kids.

Especially since the two probably barely started with 5,000 net after their training 10 years ago. It probably started at around 3,000 EUR net.
I started as an engineer with 3,500 EUR gross and not with a good 6,000.

But what is true:
It is what it is, whining doesn’t help. Either you adapt to the circumstances of your time and build, maybe smaller, maybe with a larger own contribution... or you don’t and keep whining.

Today we shoveled 4.5m³ of concrete into a foundation trench for a garden wall with a few buddies. Everything hurts, but that’s just how it is. Hiring a company is out of the question, I don’t have that money.

I am quite surprised here because of the disparaging comments. It is true: in the past, nothing was given away for free either. Interest rates were high and prices, for example at the beginning of the 90s (parents of today's homeowners), were also high. However, building standards were already solid back then, and one should not speak ill of that. At least some insulation, massive walls. My parents, for example, have 2 bathrooms, etc. It’s better not to talk about the grandparents from the early 60s. Those were really simple houses that were put up, but they worked. The truth is also that while the jump from 1960 to 1990 still brought central heating, running hot water, etc., the jump from 1990 to 2020 is hardly noticeable. Whether the house is heated by a heat pump or a gas boiler? Whether the electricity is supplied by the nuclear power plant or by solar panels in summer? So what. The thickness of the insulation does not really bring any gain in comfort either; people simply could heat more for less money before. And it goes on like this. There are certainly some nice gimmicks, but nothing groundbreaking like the 1990 vs 1960 comparison.

It is also true that people lived more frugally in the past and especially spent less money on holidays and instead spent the time on the construction site. Generally, more personal effort was put in by oneself. But this was also easier because family ties were stronger and people were often still rooted in their hometown, which meant the social network was better.

Despite everything, one cannot sugarcoat the situation for normal earners and it is not as if no one buys the expensive properties anymore. They are bought, and with inherited money, not by double-income households, but by civil servant couples working part-time. Seen time and again in the social environment. Given one’s own income, one can basically forget about it in metropolitan areas unless one is already in their 40s.

How could it get better? More building land, lower building standards, fewer expensive legal obligations, and much more. Plus more personal effort again and less consumption. Will that happen? No. Less consumption is inevitable, because taxes (especially CO2) and social security contributions are rising. A better political environment for building? Hardly. At most, interest rates can theoretically fall again. Therefore better now than never, if it somehow works.

Additional costs for rent and house are almost the same, a new house is rather cheaper compared to an old building.

That is simply not true. You cannot just compare a new house with an old apartment and then claim that the house is cheaper in additional costs. By the way, even that is not correct.

A smaller apartment (otherwise you wouldn’t need a house) requires less energy because a) less area and b) fewer exterior walls. Less space also leads to less luxury such as a second refrigerator, second freezer, second TV, etc., thus lowering electricity demand. We don’t even need to start on the new property tax. Large single-family houses are now really burdened, while smaller rental apartments in the same location come off significantly! cheaper. If it really is an old apartment, then the heating costs are higher, but that is partially compensated by the cheaper building insurance.

You can save some additional costs if things like a caretaker or elevator are not needed, but then you have to do this work yourself.

Oh yes: maintenance also includes repairs. In an apartment, these are paid by the landlord (of course, indirectly factored into the basic rent). In a house, this is naturally much higher because 2 bathrooms are more expensive than one, a larger kitchen is more expensive than a small one, etc. A garden and a garage also have to be paid for if you no longer park on the street, and much more.

Of course, the upkeep of a house is more expensive than an apartment. But: in return, I also get the comfort of a house and thus a benefit.