House buying - No idea what one can afford

Is it correct that if you build a new house that meets the current guidelines, meaning Energy 55 or even better, you get really good conditions for a certain part from the KfW? That is at least how I understand the overview page there.

I am surprised that no one here has listed this in all the calculations of conditions and repayments.

And another topic - where can you find out which plots of land are for sale where, or which already belong to companies like Massa Haus? On Immowelt and similar sites, there is not a single plot for sale within a 10 km radius of where we live that would even remotely fit.

And further? Yes, there is a discount on the interest rate here, but it costs more to achieve this standard.

Looking for a plot - when the time comes - around Essen/Bochum/Gelsenkirchen. Is it really normal that plots cost between 150 and 250 EUR/m2? That's really insane.

Today we looked at a Massa Haus model house, which of course is not very meaningful, because firstly it’s 15 years old and secondly it’s neither our house type nor taste.

I’m using this thread to ask further questions, since we are still completely in the decision phase:

It is known that the Massa house is not a bargain - I would like to know if this type of prefabricated house is still clearly cheaper than prefabricated solid houses, as there are also providers for those (if you probably won’t be able to contribute much own work)?

And how does it look with a completely different approach, via an architect? That is usually solid construction, I think, and many architect services are included directly or indirectly even with the prefab providers.

For me, architects with their great websites are in a whole other league and practically unaffordable if you want to spend about 350-450k in total - but is that really so unrealistic?

Either way, I fear the worst - we are debt-free and need the money for house, plot, interior finishing, so all costs, plus a bit of outdoor area, buffer for anything, double rent costs during the construction period etc., then practically all the money, that is more than 100% of the pure construction costs, so it just won’t work...

Then I would take another look at existing buildings in parallel, you are not under any time pressure. And usually, you find your dream house even when no one would have actually expected it. At least that was the case for us. Renovating, sprucing up, adding can be done later anyway.

Information about land prices for orientation can be found at Boris.NRW

But the price does not sound abnormal at first. However, there can also be price differences within a city. You just need to know where you want to live.

Who put the idea in your head that prefabricated wooden houses are somehow more expensive or cheaper than solid prefabricated houses or architect-designed houses or GU/BT houses?

Same size, same quality, same comfort means: same price!

This is the case everywhere!

now we're just going in circles again. Assuming we would then, when debt-free, go to an architect, he would have to know what budget we have... but we only know that once we go to the bank with a fully planned complete plan for the plot and house, it is evaluated, and we know if it will be approved... It's kind of a dilemma.

I don't know whether 300, 400, or even 500k would theoretically be possible, this is a really stupid starting situation. And that is actually the topic of the thread.