How does everyone afford a house?

Good evening,

I would like to "put the horse before the cart from a different perspective"

I am new here, as home ownership is becoming more and more of a topic for us. Especially since almost all our friends are currently building/have built and are infecting us.

This is currently a sensitive topic (from my point of view); the low interest rates "tempt" people to build houses. Also those for whom building a house had not been an issue until now, and for others it would have been completely unaffordable. This results in the used market lying dormant – which will change suddenly in 5 years –, land prices soaring to utopian heights; the market for condominiums being noticeably slowed down. And – due to the internet – increasingly absurd consultation talks have to be held. Sellers without conscience currently have Christmas year-round.

We are 26 and 31 years old and have a net income of just under 4,000 euros. I would actually call that pretty okay.

I would agree with that. My son has studied; I know how much money all of that costs; if there isn’t the parents’ wallet, the bank soon knocks on the door after the end of studies. Building equity is quite difficult in the first years of work, especially since the wish to "finally live" is in focus, which I can well understand. In this respect, I would not let myself be made to feel guilty.

How do all the other people do it? They are about the same age as us, also out of university for 3-5 years, and build large, beautiful single-family homes (much bigger than I imagine ours to be) in great locations. And continue to live without giving up leisure time etc.

Back in my banking days, there was a nice saying that went roughly like this: "People buy things they don’t need, with money they don’t have, to impress people they don’t like". There is still a lot of truth in that today; not every vacation is paid in cash, but the car title is with the bank.

Not too long ago, we didn’t have to design the appearance of a new building primarily according to the taste of the builders, but with the goal that it would outdo the neighbor’s architecture (find the flaw). Sometimes, but only sometimes....

Am I seeing this too rigidly? Or do we not earn as well as I thought? Or is it completely normal to have 50,000 euros saved up in your mid-twenties/early thirties?

It is always the question of income and demands on one’s own life. is satisfied with a vacation on the Baltic Sea – even if it came with compromises; you rather enjoy the advantages of the monthly salary with a view to the added value of your own life. Neither one is good nor the other less good; it just depends...

I wonder – similar to Yvonne – whether it makes sense to bind yourself to one place/a single-family home at a young age. Unless, of course, you have classic ideas about the course of your life and want to subordinate all deviations from this plan.

Anyway... there have to be tenants too; where else would the investors go

Rhine greetings

I also think that this is mostly due to spending habits. If I only look within my circle of colleagues (with similar incomes), one has a 60sqm apartment on the outskirts of town, the other 120sqm in the center. That's easily a 500 euro monthly difference in rent, which quickly adds up to a decent amount of equity. The same goes for the car situation; one doesn't have one, the other "needs" a new car for each partner every three years. It's pretty clear who among them can afford to build a house.

Many thanks in advance for all the answers!
The idea of owning property actually came to us when we roughly calculated how much cold rent we have paid together (sometimes for 2 apartments) over the last 8 years. When we saw the sum of 86,400 euros on the calculator, we were shocked. And then we saw all the other builders and thought: If they can do it, then we can do it too.

Top priority is to be completely finished by the year 2045. Therefore, we thought it would be best to start as early as possible. We expect to move into the property in 2-3 years. So roughly calculated with a term of 25 years. By then we will surely have saved another 20,000 euros. But as equity, that's still quite little.

Setting aside this 1,200 euros is difficult because we still have to pay rent. That would be a total double burden.

Here is my monthly household budget (I have already included the not-yet-existent child):

Additional costs 300 euros
Food/hygiene/children’s items 450 euros (112/week)
Office food 110 euros (22 x 5 euros)
Kindergarten 100 euros
Mobile phone/Internet 100 euros
Fuel 200 euros (2 cars)
Car tax 20 euros (2 cars)
Car insurance 150 euros (2 cars)
Liability insurance 5 euros
Legal expenses insurance 25 euros
Household insurance 15 euros
Building insurance 10 euros
Life insurance 10 euros
Disability insurance 70 euros
Supplemental dental insurance 40 euros
Leisure/clothing/music lessons/sports etc 400 euros
Savings 200 euros
Vacation 200 euros (2 adults, 1 child)

= 2,400 euros

If I only work part-time, then the 4,000 euros income will drop to 3,400 euros. An additional 180 euros come in, so a total income of 3,580 euros. Minus expenses of 2,400 euros leaves exactly 1,180 euros for the mortgage payment.
Of course, we plan to put in as much as possible as long as we do not yet have children.

How much rent do you pay now?

How much rent do you pay now?

Currently, due to a long-distance relationship, we still maintain two households, which we are slowly dissolving. Rent together is therefore just under 1000 euros + various double ancillary housing costs.

Then move in together first before you take the plunge of buying a house....^^

or a manageable condominium in a good location. For starters. But that is also expensive in BaWü...