How does everyone afford a house?

I think that in your early 30s, without children and with a degree in your pocket, you can certainly have some savings, but it’s a question of priorities. How important are vacation, the car, clothes, etc. to you?

My wife and I are about your age (a bit older) and now have a single-family house in BaWü, have 2 children and a similar income. I also studied, but part-time (which of course had the advantage that I didn’t have to think about where to go on vacation because I needed that time for exams and preparation.... ) And still, we managed to contribute a third of our purchase price as equity. We didn’t live badly, at least from my subjective point of view.

To me, it’s more of a puzzle how you manage not to build any equity under your conditions.

Don’t feel attacked. I don’t care how and for what you spend your money, I just wanted to show that you actually have the conditions to build some equity.

No, no problem at all :) I don’t feel attacked. I’ve only been working for 3 years and actually spent these three years paying off small debts from my training period and buying my first car (an inexpensive small car). Only about three quarters of a year ago did I start saving a bit. My better half has been really busy for a year now. Before that, he already had a professional qualification but studied part-time over the last 5 years and spent almost 10,000 on it. Nevertheless, he managed to save a little (almost 10,000 euros). How did you manage to save so much money in such a short time? So if I assume you bought at about 28, and the house cost just under 300,000, one third is still 90,000 euros. And if you had maybe 5 years to save after training, that’s 1,500 euros/month. Hooowww?

According to your calculation, you spend, for example, €700 per month on cars and insurance. Also, €2,400 per year on holidays is already a considerable amount. Maybe people prioritize differently, or work with 1% repayment - just ask around among acquaintances - especially since with €1,200 you can currently get €330,000 - with €1,800 even €495,000 (which I wouldn't recommend - but it would be possible).

Somehow I feel ashamed to ask acquaintances.... you don't talk about money... or do people take a more relaxed approach on this topic? I don't want to come across as rude...

You may be right that this is a strange topic. If you do a bit of research here, you will find some household diaries and listings where you can do a bit of benchmarking.
With regard to your salary, once the house is built, for example, we also have a payment of 1800 euros (for two children, but I have mentally compensated for them with the child benefits).

The question would also be whether your acquaintances are not telling you only half the truth.

You have already noticed yourself that the term can be extended (=low repayment). Another way to keep the rate low would be to choose a short fixed interest period. Both combined and chosen, and it hits hard after the first fixed interest period expires (ok, extreme case).

But actually, one should not ask "everyone," but rather oneself. And there you seem to be giving yourself sensible answers already.

Even 2400 € a year for vacation is already a hefty amount. 2400 euros for vacation is not a hefty amount at all. A week in Greece in May for 2 adults and 1 child already costs nearly a thousand. Not only building is expensive, vacationing with children is too.

Not related to the profession this time, but I would classify our income as average.

For your age, I find the salary quite appealing.

None of them inherited or are being supported.

Who knows? You yourself say: money is not talked about.

The parents of your parents (Your as a collective term for your generation or circle of friends) are around 70/mid 70s, at this age big cash gifts can be made with warm hands. Also, the inheritance of these parents has (very likely) already been distributed in recent years. This age corresponds to the generation of my grandparents who, when they passed away, had not little (frugality due to war experience and good pension).
Houses are sold and small apartments in the city center are rented, which are paid monthly by the pension. Not all consume their assets for care, but remain spry. The money from the house is gladly given to the children for building their own home, or a monthly allowance is paid from the fixed interest, because the grandchild should have it well...

Few talk about the fact that as a result their equity makes up a large part of the financing.

Personally, I wonder whether getting a property at such a young age (25+) is really a good idea. You can see it with you: life is lived well. And you want to keep that that way. One should try, however, to save some equity over the next few years in order to see if one is ready to cut back.
Just because "others" build houses or have children does not have to be the goal for oneself. You can practice homeownership by renting a single-family house with a garden and responsibilities...

My husband’s daughter and her husband (your age) have occasionally looked for properties – now they have rented a nice penthouse apartment in a converted country estate and are happy for the time being. Meanwhile, they continue to save.

Best regards, Yvonne