Home financing ever possible? Probably not!

and what exactly is the increased demand about?

nice or large tiles instead of standard, large windows + extra shading, lounge stuff in the garden, irrigation in the garden, at least 1 car, cell phone, electronic stuff, vacation and house purchase, new clothes, new furniture, new kitchen, granite countertop, food processor, separate office, dressing room, photovoltaics. These are the things that come to my mind spontaneously here and that could easily be saved on. But that's just not so modern anymore. I have consciously oriented my life towards low fixed costs and also have a lot of stuff, but significantly less than most others here. In real life, I sometimes get a bit of pity because I go to Ikea, to buy drinks, or to the garden center by bike + trailer. The demand is that you supposedly do "such things" by car and that’s why I am an exception. If everyone did that, no one would look or talk to me.

Well, the difference compared to, for example, my parents' generation (building '83): - Father sole earner as a simple technical employee (gross income before retirement '12 approx … - Sole earner income is not enough, despite gross income of 75-80 … It is simply a loss of prosperity with higher education and better earnings.

Better earnings?? Those are less than 2% wage increases per year, with increased productivity and ongoing inflation. If we don't take your father's final salary but an average that's 10k less, it's still "only" 2.5% per year.

Practically no increase in purchasing power despite better education. Better earnings?

Where exactly does the loss of prosperity come from now? Certainly NOT from better earnings. In terms of purchasing power, it's not better at all. Thanks to bracket creep, you are probably even worse off net.

-> I want to draw attention in this example to where the big catch is. That land and property became disproportionately more expensive and that technology, building regulations, and a reduction in own contributions cost extra, is added, but has nothing to do with the cause.

The decades-long wage restraint was actually the German business model because they wanted to be export world champion. It brought a lot, but also has disadvantages – as shown here.

and what exactly is the increased demand?

How long did people use a television in the past? What did a refrigerator, a car cost, how long were they used? What did a single telephone connection cost, what about vacations, what food was put on the table? How often did children get new bicycles, clothes? How many gifts were there? Who cut the hair and what was paid for it? How many cosmetics were in the bathroom? How often was home decor bought? If one lived today as our parents did, one would have significantly more surplus.

Today
- Single earner is not enough, despite gross income of 75-80k

Yes, it was enough until recently: €500,000 loan with 1.5% interest, 2% repayment means a rate of €1,500. And with a €500k loan plus equity, you could afford something very decent.

When energy becomes affordable again and craftsmen run out of orders, building a house or renovating at 4% interest will soon be feasible again. Supply and demand will regulate it.

How long did people use a TV back then? What did a refrigerator, a car cost, how long were these used? What did the one telephone line cost, what about vacations, what food was put on the table? How often did children get new bicycles, clothes? How many gifts were there? Who cut the hair and what did it cost? How many cosmetics were in the bathroom? How often was home décor bought? If one lived today like our parents did, one would have significantly more surplus.

I would add here that certain technical innovations / possibilities simply did not exist yet. There was simply no smart home into which you could sink 50k.

If I think about our children's rooms, for example, it was nothing fancy. The furniture was inherited, there were some shelves for books and toys. And that was normal, even though my parents always earned well and my father was well taken care of. It simply wasn't important how children's rooms looked. We decorated ourselves when we got older. With posters, stickers. When I think about what we spent here on the children's rooms, it makes my head spin – and the children don't really care. Or our garden furniture – those were some deck chairs and wicker chairs. Nothing matched.